Long Before The Hawk We Know
by Wolfling21
Summary: Clint had a habit of bringing home strays before he ever found Natasha or became part of the Avengers. First, it was a leery fifteen year old who wormed her way into Clint's heart. AoU & future movie spoilers. Rating for various forms of abuse. Follows MCU timeline. Fem/slash later. Crosses with He Never Learns Later. New cover image
1. Chapter 1

**Author: this is based of a bit of an rp I'm doing with a friend. I don't own Clint, Laura or Fury**

 **Dallas, Texas**

 **2002**

"Oh god... Laura is gonna kill me for this one. If Fury doesn't first." Clint groaned.

Something about the mission had smelled funny from the beginning but the handler assigned to him hadn't listened.

So here he was... In a warehouse with a bullet in his side... Hoping to hell the man who was supposed to have been his target didn't find him.

"I'm going to murder that filthy piece of shit when I get out of here." He said.

"Talk to yourself much?"

Clint jumped, looking around in shock for the source of the voice.

"Some asshole shot ya huh?" the same voice asked.

"Who are you?" He asked, pulling a knife from his boot.

A figure stepped out of the shadows nearby and circled him carefully.

She was just a kid, maybe thirteen at the most, with dirty blonde hair and green eyes.

"You're just a kid." He whispered.

"I'm fifteen. Plenty old enough to be on my own." She growled.

"How come you're out here on your own?" He asked.

"What's it matter to you?" She quipped. She was local... her accent told him that much.

Clint stared at her, taking in her jaded eyes... The cautious way she approached... Her unease... He knew all of that from experience.

"Somebody hurt you? Parents, siblings?" He asked gently.

She stared at him, looking ready to rip him a new one before she crouched down near him.

He noticed she stayed out of arms length... someone had definitely done something to make her leery of people.

"Who shot you?" She asked, nodding to the blood soaking through his vest.

"My target." He whispered.

"You an spy or assassin or something? Like in one of those Jame Bond movies?" She scoffed.

"Something like that." He chuckled.

She stared at his vest before sliding over to his side, watching him carefully.

"I'm pretty good at patching myself when... I got hurt. Could try to patch you up." She offered.

Up close he could see a jagged scar on her arm and a few smaller ones on her face.

She yelped when he grabbed her wrist to examine the scar then tried to jerk away but he didn't let her go. Instead he gently took her face on his hand, looking at the scars on her face.

They were barely noticeable but there none the less.

"Who did this to you?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter." She muttered.

"Who did this to you?" He growled.

She dropped her eyes and jerked her face from his hand. "My asshole parents... Ya happy now old man?" She hissed.

Rage flared up inside of him when she confirmed his suspensions.

He wanted to hunt down her parents and make sure they never put their hands on any child ever again.

"So this is where you ran off to. And you've got a little girlfriend." A voice cackled.

Clint swung his head towards the entrance to the warehouse as five men came into view.

Four were burly and vicious looking.

The fifth oozed charisma but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Who the hell are they?" the girl whispered.

"My target. And his bodyguards apparently." Clint whispered.

"You really are an assassin or something." She whimpered.

"Yeah I am." He admitted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author: warnings for murder, intention to rape, sex slavery. I don't own fury or Clint**

"Explain to me exactly why you decided to drag this kid back to SHIELD with you." Fury growled.

"She's fifteen and she saved my life." Clint whispered, closing his eyes and leaning back.

"Regardless." Fury muttered.

Clint sighed and glanced up at the ceiling.

* ** _flashback_** *

Clint gathered the girl to his chest and leaned against her as he got to his feet.

"No way you can fight them all." She whispered.

"What's your name?" He panted.

"Rain." She whimpered.

"When I tell you to... Get out of here. Run as fast you can out of here. Find somewhere safe." He told her.

Rain shivered and nodded slowly.

"Brave bastard aren't Ya?" His target chuckled, aiming a lecherous grin at Rain.

Miles Kennedy.

Age thirty two.

He had a taste for underage girls and took part in the selling and transfer of sex slaves to high paying clientele across the world.

"Rain... Run." Clint hissed.

"Where?" She whimpered.

"Anywhere. But get out of here now." He growled.

She made a soft sound before she bolted.

"Get the girl! I'll take care of him." Miles chuckled.

The body guards scattered and Clint silently hoped she'd get away safely.

"Miles Kennedy. You are a very sick bastard." He growled, staring the man down.

"I am a man with unique tastes." Miles chuckled.

"You rape and abuse underage girls. You take the runaways and orphans... Then you sell them off as sex slaves to the highest bidder." Clint snapped.

"Maybe when my men get your girl back... You could give it a try. The young ones... They're a lot of fun. Especially when they scream and try to get away." Miles laughed.

Clint cringed at the thought of forcing himself on any woman... Especially not his Laura.

"Never. I'm not as asshole like you. I would never force myself on a woman. And I would never touch an underage girl." Clint growled.

A scream echoed through the warehouse and he inhaled sharply.

"Sounds like they found her." Miles chuckled.

Clint growled and pulled out his knife, driving into the other man's skull.

The sudden movement shifted the bullet in his side and sent sparks of pain through him.

"Fuck me!" He yelped.

Another scream then a sob echoed through the warehouse.

"Rain?!" He shouted.

A yell, this one male, then four gunshots.

"Rain!?" He shouted again.

A sob then the girl burst to view. "You're still alive!" She sobbed.

"Yeah... This bastard isn't." He muttered, nodding to his target on the ground.

"Those assholes... They tried to rape me but... I kept fighting them off." She whimpered, clinging to him.

"Atta girl." He whispered.

* ** _end flashback_** *

Fury rubbed his temples and said, "She is still underage. And a runaway. She should be returned to her parents Barton."

Clint was silent, breathing deeply.

Fury shook his head.

Barton could fall asleep anywhere quickly, especially when he was hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author: Ty for my wonderful reviewers, especially OverLordRed who loves Rain almost as much as I do. You guys are great. I really wasn't sure how well this story would go over. Mentions of alcoholism, abuse and language. I own Rain_**.

"I want to see Agent Barton." Rain said, not even bothering to look at the agent who had just walked in.

"You can. Just as soon as you explain a few things to me." The agent said, sitting down across from her.

Rain eyed him before quickly snatching the clip on badge he wore from his shirt collar. "Agent Phil Coulson." She read.

Coulson blinked at her and said, "You're fast. Rain, isn't it? Or rather Lorraine."

"Lorraine is a shitty name. I rather Rain." She muttered, toying with his badge.

"Why don't you tell me why you ran away from home?" He asked.

"Already had a shrink come in and give my a psych eval." She scoffed.

"I know. But I want to hear it for myself." Coulson said.

Rain sighed and asked, "If I tell you... I can see Agent Barton? The doctor... She said he was alive but that the bullet did some nasty damage to him."

"Yes. You can see Agent Barton. After we're done." Coulson assured her gently.

"I was born in some little town in West Texas... out near El Paso. But my parents, they moved out to East Texas. My parents... they drink a lot. Not a few beers after work or at mealtime... More like they drank their meals straight from the bottle. And when they were drunk... They had nasty as hell tempers." Rain whispered.

Coulson watched her silently, being reminded of when a young man sat across from him... Begging for them to not put him in jail or send his girlfriend back to her abusive father.

Small wonder Clint had insisted this girl return to base with him... He saw a younger Laura in Rain.

"My mom... She was the worse of the two. My dad... He just yelled at me and smacked me 'round a bit. But that bitch... She pretty much got off on hurting me. Scratched up my face when she couldn't find anymore Vodka in the house. Took a knife to my arm just for the hell of it. Might have traded me for a case of booze if she had no money." Rain whimpered, staring at the jagged scar on her arm.

"Go on." Coulson prompted.

"You want to know why I ran away? Cuz if I hadn't, I might either be dead or have killed those assholes myself. And I want to live. Same reason I shot those four bastards in Dallas who wanted to rape me. I want to fucking live." Rain hissed.

Coulson stared at her, looking past all the rage in her eyes and seeing pure fire beyond.

She wanted to live alright & she didn't seem to care how she did so, as long as she did.

"I need to go talk to someone and go check on Barton. Then you may see him." He told her.

"When?" Rain demanded.

"Soon." Coulson assured her as he walked out the door.

As soon as the door locked, Rain buried her face in her arms and quietly cried.

She had not told anyone her fear of either dieing or killing her parents had she not left. But that man... That Agent Coulson had made her want to spill her soul.

And the words had tumbled out before she could stop them.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"She's a spit fire." Fury said, watching Rain through the two way mirror.

"Yes sir. And what she told the psychiatrist appears to be true. She was abused by her family. According to the information we found, she has not been seen by neighbors, teachers or schoolmates in five months but she has not been reported as a run away by her parents." Coulson said, flipping open a file on the desk.

"Is there any next of kin?" Fury asked.

"No sir. And I would not return the girl to her family. It could be a death sentence." Coulson told him.

Fury sighed and rubbed his temples. "Let her see Barton. Maybe they can figure out what to do with her. SHIELD is not equipped to take care of a teenager." He said.

"She seems to take care of herself well enough." Coulson pointed out.

"Take her to Barton." Fury repeated.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Clint cringed as the doctor removed the bandage so they could both see his injury.

The bullet wound had been stitched up but didn't look nearly as bad as it had when there was blood all over his side and soaking his best.

"The sutures are holding. And there is no sign of infection. I suggest another day of bed rest then probably a brief time off to finish healing." The doctor told him.

"How long on antibiotics and when do I need to come in to have them removed?" Clint asked.

"Another ten days on the antibiotics. And the sutures will dissolve on their on about three weeks. However if they start to pop, you may trim them. Just be sure to keep them clean and covered." The doctor told him.

Yeah that part I know." Clint said.

Coulson stuck his head into the room and said, "Clint you have a visitor."

Rain stuck her head around Coulson and then stepped inside quietly.

"Hey kiddo. You okay?" Clint asked.

Rain nodded and whispered, "Yeah... They've got a cot for me to sleep on. And they feed me. But they wouldn't let me come see you."

Clint shot a glare at Coulson before motioning for Rain to sit down.

"I'm okay see? Just some sutures. It only looked a lot worse than it actually was." He told her gently.

Rain nodded and glanced at Coulson then the doctor.

"Any chance of privacy?" She asked.

"Of course." The doctor said, leading Coulson out.

"They made me talk about my parents." Rain whispered once they were alone.

Clint gently ran his thumb over the scar on her arm and said, "My dad drank a lot when I was a kid. My mom did too. But my dad, he beat me and my brother up a lot. I've still got a lot of scars from him. And my wife... Her father..."

"You're married?" Rain asked.

"Yeah for a while now. She's.. more than I ever thought I deserved. But her father.. He drank a lot too and well he..." Clint cringed and shook his head.

Rain shivered... She understood what Clint hadn't said.

"I think they want to send me back to my parents. I over heard a couple of the agents talking my first night here. They said that I'm underage and since SHIELD had nowhere to keep kids, I should go back to my parents. But if I do, I'll either kill them or they'll kill me. And I don't wanna die." She whispered.

Clint's eyes flashed and he gently gathered Rain in his arms.

She tensed at first, inhaling sharply before slowly relaxing when she realized he wasn't going to hurt her.

"You are not going back to your parents. And you're not going to some orphanage or foster home either. I won't allow it." He told her.

"How are Ya gonna do that?" Rain asked.

"I need to make a phone call. And talk to a few people. But I think I can work something out." Clint whispered.

Laura would understand... He knew she would


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author: so much love for Rain, Laura and Clint. And seriously Marvel, why couldn't you have given the Barton Family a dog?! I own Rain and her asshole parents. Warnings for abuse. And this hopefully grants wishes for OverLordRed and Fury-Natalia._**

Laura looked at the picture of the girl on her computer again.

Slender, short, long dirty blond hair, striking green eyes and a beautiful tan.

She had a feeling that once Rain was cleaned up and in some decent clothes, she'd be very pretty.

But this poor girl was leery of everyone but Clint and showed signs of having been abused.

But Clint, her soft hearted Clint, had insisted on bringing her home with him once the doctor released him.

"She's a good kid Laura. She just needs somewhere to stay and to be with people who won't hurt her. Sending her back to her parents will be a death sentence for either her or them." Clint had told her over the phone and there was no way she could say no to that.

At her feet Scout, their black and white border collie, perked up and yipped happily.

Clint was home.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"You live on a farm?" Rain asked, looking around.

"It's more a ranch. But either way, yes I live here. With Laura." Clint told her gently.

Rain stared at the woods and the mountains beyond. "It's beautiful." She whispered.

"Those are the Catskills. I usually only going hunting in the woods, not off in the mountains themselves. But I could take you out there sometime if you'd like." Clint offered.

"I think I'd like that." She admitted.

"Clint?" A woman called as the door to Clint's house opened.

"Babe come meet Rain!" Clint called.

Rain watched the woman come down the stairs with a border collie beside her.

She was pretty enough, with long black hair and brown eyes, Rain decided. And judging by the way she embraced Clint and kissed him, very much in love and very happy.

"Rain? This is my wife Laura." Clint said gently.

Laura stared at the girl as she stared at the ground. She was shy or maybe just not very good with people. "You don't have to be afraid here. We won't hurt you. And very few people come here so you won't meet strangers too often." She said gently.

Rain glanced up at Laura and asked, "Ya mean it?"

"Of course. Now why don't you come inside and take a hot shower. I have some old clothes of mine that may be a bit big on you but they should fit well enough." Laura offered.

"Okay. These are... Pretty filthy." Rain admitted, glancing down at her jeans, tank top, denim jacket and boots.

"We can wash them. Come on." Laura said, gently touching the girl's arm.

Rain flinched a bit but didn't pull away, glancing back at Clint who trailed behind them.

The dog padded along beside Rain, sniffing her pant leg.

"What's his name?" Rain asked, letting the dog sniff her hand.

"Scout. Do you like dogs?" Laura asked gently.

"Yeah. Never had one... They wouldn't let me have one. I tried to keep a bird one time... came home from school and found it dead on the back porch one day." Rain sighed.

"You don't have to think about them while you're here. Clint and I won't let anything happen to you." Laura promised.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"What do you think of her?" Clint asked, sliding out of his shirt carefully.

"She's rough around the edges but... I think we can work around that. She can't be as bad as you were when I first met you." Laura whispered as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I was an asshole when we first met." Clint sighed.

"And I fell in love with you regardless. And I love her too. She's a good girl... Just like you said." Laura told him.

Clint smiled and whispered, "What do you think about us adopting her?"

"Can we do that?" Laura gasped.

"Do you want to?" Clint asked her.

"I... I hadn't thought about it. But... I don't want to see her leave. She already feels like she belongs here. I love her, Scout loves her, you love her. So... Yes. Let's adopt her." Laura whispered.

"I will talk to Phil and Nick to see if we can speed up the adoption process." Clint told her.

"So you think they will?" Laura asked.

Clint shrugged, kissed her and whispered, "Thank you babe."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author: did a little bit a time jump. Rain has officially been adopted into the Barton family so that will make some people happy. I own Rain_**

"I'm home!" Rain shouted, bounding up the porch steps.

"Clint called a few hours ago! He'll be home pretty soon!" Laura called.

"His last mission went well?" Rain asked, pulling off her boots.

"Seems like it. He didn't say much about it on the phone." Laura said.

"Is he okay?" Rain whispered.

"He didn't sound hurt. Just tired. Did you catch anything?" Laura shrugged, nodding to the bow and quiver over her daughter's shoulder.

"Not today. Some of the deer were too young to take. And a few seemed like they were expecting fawns. Not good for hunting." Rain told her.

The last few years had been good to Rain. Her once dirty blonde hair was now dark brown and while she was still short, she was lean and strong.

Now eighteen, she spent part of her time hunting in the woods and part of the time helping Laura around the ranch.

When Clint was home, he helped train her with a bow and taught her how to fight... At her request.

"Are you planning to talk to him once he gets home?" Laura asked.

"That's the plan but... I don't know how well he'll take the news." Rain sighed.

Laura smiled and said, "I have some news that might soften the blow of what you're going to tell him."

"What kind of news?" Rain asked.

Laura grabbed her hand gently and placed it on her stomach. "I'm pregnant." She giggled.

Rain stared at her stomach and bit her lip, emotions playing across her face.

Laura was going to have a baby... She and Clint would have a child that was their own flesh and blood.

Laura gently hugged her and whispered, "Sweetheart, just because we are having a baby of our own doesn't make you any less of a member of the family. You'll be this baby's big sister. And we will still love you just like we always have."

"I'm sorry... I just hadn't thought about you two having a baby. I didn't have any siblings before... I don't know how to be a big sister." Rain whispered.

"Just love the baby. Go out and hunt for the baby. If you go out there and have to fight, fight to make the world a safe place for the baby." Laura told her.

"You'll make a good mother. And Rain will make a good big sister." Clint said, leaning in the doorway.

Laura smiled and ran to Clint, hugging him tightly. "The tests came up positive this morning. I wanted to tell you when you got home instead of over the phone." She told him.

Clint gently stroked her stomach and whispered, "I wouldn't have cared when you told me or how."

Rain smiled and said, "I have something I want to tell you. And I want you to listen with an open heart."

"Don't I always?" Clint asked.

"Honey... She's being serious. This is important." Laura told him.

Clint sat down at the table and said, "Okay. What's so important to you?"

"I want to join SHIELD." Rain sighed.

Clint stared up at her and asked, "What? Why? You're safe here."

"I know that. But... I know that you do a lot of good for the world. To some people it may not seem that way but to me... what you do is a wonderful thing. You get rid of the truly evil men in the world. You save people from horrible fates... Like you saved me. I want to be able to save people... To give them a better life." Rain told him.

Clint sighed and whispered, "Come sit down and listen to me."

Rain sat down across him, watching him silently.

"Yes I save people. But I also kill people, maybe more than I save. Every mission means I could be killed. And innocents die... a lot. Sometimes you can't prevent it or save them. You will have blood on your hands and lots of it. SHIELD is not an easy place. It can be the death of you." Clint told her softly.

Laura slid her arms around his shoulders and whispered, "Rain sweetheart, Clint was recruited by SHIELD shortly after we got married. I have held him after more nightmares than I can remember, I've sat with him during so many night terrors. This life is not any easy one... For anyone involved."

"I survived my birth parents abuse. And being on my own for five months. I know that the life I'm asking to live is not an easy one. But I'm ready to face that if I have to." Rain told them.

"The world out there... Away from here... Is a very cruel place. You will see things that you can never burn out of your memory. You will see people do things to another human being that will make you physically ill. But you can't let yourself or else you will blow your cover." Clint told her.

"I understand." Rain assured him.

"Then I'll talk to Fury and Coulson." Clint whispered.

Rain nodded and squeezed Clint's hand.

Laura sat down beside Clint and set her hand on top of their's.

Her husband was a warrior... He had been since before they met.

Rain was a spit fire and a fearless young woman... That would never change.

If anyone could survive SHIELD, it would be them.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author: pulling double duty tonight since I will b out of town tommarow for my birthday. Hoping everyone enjoys and forgive any OOCness. Escrima sticks are Nightwing's weapon of choice. Widow also used them in Age of Ultron._**

"Aren't you Fury's pet sniper's girl? Agent Barton?" One of the trainees asked.

"If ya mean girl as in daughter, then yeah." Rain said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Really?" The trainee asked.

"Yeah." Rain shrugged, picking up her escrima sticks and leaving the locker room.

She didn't have a lot of patience for trainees who spent all their time talking instead of training.

"Trainee Barton!" Fury shouted.

"Yes sir?" Rain asked, tucking her escrima sticks in her belt.

"I am moving you out of the regular training class and into a more advanced training class. You're advancing quicker than expected." Fury told her.

"Thank you sir. I just hope the advanced class doesn't like to talk as much the regular ones." Rain smiled.

Fury nodded and motioned for her to follow him out into the hall.

"Have you heard about your father's last mission?" He asked.

"All I know is that it was supposed to be an assassination mission. But he refused the kill order and brought the target back to SHIELD." She admitted.

"What you've heard is true. I want you to test her skills." Fury said.

Rain stared at him and asked, "You want me to test the skills of a trained assassin sir? I am still just a Baby Agent."

Fury chuckled at the nickname the older agents had given to the trainee agents and said, "You've come a very long way in a short time Rain. And your father speaks very highly of you. I've seen you defeat every opponent placed in front of you, including your trainers. I have no doubt that you can hold your own against the Black Widow."

Rain felt her face heat up... Fury very seldom handed out praise to anyone, especially young agents. "I will do my best to make you and my father proud sir." She whispered.

"See that you do girl." He told her.

"Where can I find the Black Widow sir?" She asked.

"In training room C. One hour from now." Fury said.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Author: Took a few days off cuz of work. But I'm back with a chapter that will hopefully make a few people happy. Melinda May is from Agents of Shield. Language, blood, etc..._**

"Barton."

Clint looked up at the catwalk and caught sight of Fury and Coulson, heading up to join them.

"Word's gotten out." Clint said, leaning against the railing.

Agents were gathered on the other catwalks and down on the floor.

"They're all eager to see if the Black Widow lives up to her reputation. And to see if the Hawk's daughter lives up to her father's." Coulson smirked.

Clint could see bets being placed around the room and chuckled.

SHIELD agents loved a few things more than their work: gossip, pranks, fights and betting.

"Fifty on your girl." Fury said.

"I'll match it." Coulson smirked.

"Double it." Clint told them.

"You've got a lot of faith in her." Fury said, pulling out his wallet.

"She's my daughter." Clint reminded him as Melinda May walked up.

"We'll get it back." Coulson said, sliding two fifties from his pocket.

"Are you sure Barton's daughter can stand against Black Widow sir?" May asked.

"I am." Fury told her.

May nodded and leaned against the railing next to Clint, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Rain looked around at the agents gathered in the room and smirked.

SHIELD agents loved to have their odd, perverse fun.

A whistle drew her attention the catwalk to her right... Where her father stood with Director Fury, Melinda May and Coulson.

"Hi dad." She whispered.

"So you are the little girl Fury wants to test my skills? I am not impressed." Black Widow smirked, joining her in the center of the room.

"And you are a stuck up bitch." Rain growled.

Widow was beautiful with brilliant green eyes, blood red hair, plenty of curves and a softly accented voice.

But she didn't seem much older than Rain, if at all.

"Ladies! This is a test match! Do not fight to kill!" Fury shouted.

"Where is the fun in that?" Widow smirked.

Rain rolled her eyes and said, "Are we gonna actually fight or stand here all day to be eye candy for the other agents?"

Widow smirked and dove at Rain, who slid out of the way.

"You are very fast." Widow smirked.

Rain grinned and pulled her escrima sticks out, twirling them.

"Nobody said we couldn't use weapons." She reminded the other woman.

Widow rushed her, landing a kick to Rain's arm before she was hit twice with the sticks.. Once to the abdomen and once to the thigh.

Widow cursed in Russian and stumbled back, cringing. "Those hurt." She growled in English.

"Wait until I get some that have electric currents running through the ends." Rain chuckled before she tackled Widow, landing two hard blows to the other woman's ribs.

"Bitch!" Widow yelped, wrapping her legs around Rain's neck to choke her.

"Not how I would ever want to be between another girl's legs." Rain hissed, before she sank her teeth into Widow's leg.

Widow cried out and released Rain, pulling out a taser chip and throwing it at the other woman.

Rain screamed when the electric current shot through her, forcing her back to arc. She clawed at the taser chip before tearing it off her arm and tossing it away.

Widow crouched nearby, watching and waiting for another chance to strike her prey.

Rain glared darkly and felt for the knife in her boot.

Fury had said this was not a fight to kill.

And yet that electric current could have killed her had the taser chip landed near her heart.

Widow pounced and the two women went rolling.

Rain stabbed her knife into Widow's shoulder before kicking the red head away.

Widow touched her shoulder and stared at the blood on her hand in shock before looking up at Rain.

There was a dangerous fire in her eyes and a deadly smirk on her face.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Fury saw the knife in Black Widow's shoulder and nodded to Clint, Coulson and May.

May and Clint both jumped the railing while Coulson ran to the stairs.

The other agents who had been shouting and cheering fell quiet.

The fight was over... Fury didn't need two young agents killing each other.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Rain cried out when she was grabbed from behind. "Lemme go!" She shouted, wanting to rip Widow apart.

"Rain! Knock it! Your high on adrenaline and the thrill of a potential kill." Clint shouted in her ear.

It took Rain a moment to realize what he was saying and another moment to realized this was something he had warned her about.

Agent's enjoyed their work... Maybe more than they should.

Something about holding the life of another human being in their hands and watching the light leave their eyes.

"Oh shit." She whispered.

Clint held Rain tightly even though she stopped struggling as May restrained Widow enough to allow Coulson to check her wound.

"Blade isn't long enough for an exit wound. And it probably didn't hit anything vital." Coulson said, taking off his tie.

"Is the blade serrated?!" May shouted to Clint.

"Rain?" Clint asked.

"No!" Rain called.

"Okay. Then let's take it out. Can you get her to the infirmary on your own?" Coulson asked May.

"I will go quietly." Widow growled.

Coulson nodded and pulled the blade out, shoving his wadded up tie against the wound to staunch the bleeding.

"Keep pressure on that." May told Widow, hauling her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Coulson asked Rain.

"I feel sick. And dizzy." She admitted, leaning against Clint.

"Probably the adrenaline, the thrill and the electric shock. I'll have one of the doctors check her over." Clint said, pulling the bet money from his pocket and giving Coulson his share.

"Barton! Get her checked out then bring her to my office!" Fury snapped.

Clint nodded and steered Rain toward the infirmary.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author:_ ** _kinda long but lots to have happen._**

"Exactly what were you thinking during the last minute or two of the fight Agent?" Fury asked.

"I was thinking that you had clearly given the command that we not fight to kill. But Widow seemed to be ignoring the command. The electric currant from her taser chip could have sent me into cardiac arrest had the chip landed near my heart." Rain said, sipping her coffee.

"And after that?" Fury asked.

Rain stared into her coffee and whispered, "I don't remember sir. I... blacked out. Next thing I remember is being grabbed from behind, being picked up and my father shouting in my ear."

"It sounds like a typical hunt blackout sir. But in such a new agent.." Agent May began.

"A hunt blackout? What is that?" Rain asked, looking at her father.

"It's a term used by older agents, especially ones who spend a lot of time in the field hunting down targets. You get so caught up in the hunt.. chasing your target, cornering them and finally taking them out. Watching the light fade from their eyes as they die..." Clint said, trailing off as his eyes glazed over.

May walked over and smacked Clint upside the head, making him yelp and glare at her.

"Most agents who have these blackouts are still semi aware. They still respond to their handlers and still check in via their coms. But sometimes they don't remember parts of the mission. It is possible to "awaken" them. Usually by interfering with their mission directly." Fury said.

"Like you did after I stabbed Widow." Rain sighed, glancing at Clint.

"Yeah... I've been through all this before. More times than I care to count." He admitted.

Rain gave him a soft smile and leaned against him.

Fury gave the pair a slight smile and nodded to the door once he had caught Clint's attention.

"Why don't you go get cleaned up sweetheart? Use my quarters." Clint told Rain gently.

Rain eyed Clint, Fury and May before getting up and leaving the room.

She knew when her father and their superiors needed to talk privately.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Coulson asked, walking in a few seconds later.

"What is your personal opinion on Rain?" Fury asked.

"She's a very clever girl and from what I've seen, she has advanced through training abnormally fast. If I didn't know better, I'd think she had training from youth." Coulson said.

"And we know for sure there's no chance of that?" May asked.

"We ran her background multiple times. Searched through her blood line... There's nothing to suggest SHIELD, HYDRA or anything else. Her parents... They have military in their family but distantly. There's no way she had training." Fury said.

"No way it's all a ruse?" May asked.

"No. We've run it a thousand different ways with all the same results." Coulson told her.

Fury picked up a paper from his desk and handed it to Clint. "This should make your girl happy." He said.

Clint took the paper and glanced at it.

"Couple found dead in mobile home. Suspected alcohol poisoning." Clint whispered before scanning the article.

Rain's birth parents had drunk themselves to death.

"Serves those assholes right." He scoffed.

"Agreed." Coulson whispered.

Fury cleared his throat and they all looked up at him.

"I was going to push Rain up into the advanced class of Baby Agents. But after seeing her fight Black Widow... I believe she has far surpassed even the advanced class. She's young... I can not deny or forget that. But she is a natural at what we do... at what we need to do." Fury told them.

"Sir?" Clint asked softly.

"I'm making your daughter a full agent Barton. Go tell her the news. Then take her home to be with her mother. I understand you have a baby on the way soon." Fury told him.

"Yes sir. A boy. And we're all very excited." Clint whispered.

"Get your girl and go home Clint. And tell Laura congratulations." Fury whispered.

"Congratulations Clint. You'll make a good father." May said.

"He already is. If how Rain turned out is any indication." Coulson smiled.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Mom! We're home! And we've got great news!" Rain shouted, running up the porch steps.

"In the living room." Laura called, from where she was stretched out on the couch.

"Are you okay babe?" Clint asked, dropping his bag in the front hall and sitting beside her.

"Been really sick today." She sighed.

"Morning sickness?" Clint asked.

"Yeah." Laura yawned.

Rain squeezed her hand gently and said, "I got made full agent. No more pussy footing around with the Baby Agents."

"Congratulations sweetie. I knew you were moving through the training quickly." Laura smiled.

"And there's this." Clint added, handing Laura the article about Rain's birth parents.

"Good riddance to them." Laura said, setting the paper aside.

"Our thoughts exactly." Rain agreed, touching Laura's baby bump as her little brother kicked.

"I think Cooper agrees." Clint smiled.

"He will never know people like them." Laura whispered.

"No he will not. I will never let it happen." Rain promised.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Author: long chapter again and I apologize for nothing._**

Rain sat up slowly and glanced around, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

There were no sounds of traffic or stench of booze.

There was a comfortable bed beneath her, not some mattress on the floor or a patch of cement in a corner.

This wasn't one of her haunts in Dallas or her parents mobile home.

She was home on the ranch... safe, loved and protected.

The alarm clock on her bedside table read just past 3am and she could hear Cooper crying down the hall.

"Hold on little one. I'm coming." She yawned, heading into the nursery.

Laura looked up when Rain walked in and smiled gently. "Why don't you go back to bed sweetie? I was about to warm up a bottle for Cooper." She suggested.

Rain cocked her head a little to examine Laura. Despite the lack of light, she could see how tired her adopted mother looked. Getting up to tend to Cooper every few hours was taking its toll.

"No it's okay. Let me take care of him and you go back to sleep. I don't think I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon." She told her..

"Are you alright? Do you feel sick?" Laura asked, touching her forehead.

"I feel fine. I just had a nasty dream and forgot where I was when I first woke up." Rain admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Laura whispered.

"Not really. It's just stuff I rather leave in the past." Rain said, taking Cooper.

Laura sighed and headed back to bed.

She couldn't force Rain to talk... her daughter would shut down if she tried.

It was something Clint teased Rain about having inherited from him.

Cooper fussed softly all the way downstairs as Rain tucked him up on her shoulder to wait for the bottle.

"You're lucky Coop. You'll probably never know anything but this ranch until you grow up, find yourself a girl or guy, then settle down somewhere." She whispered.

The baby gurgled and cooed softly.

"You like being talked to? No surprise since dad sings to you whenever he's home." Rain smiled, shifting Cooper so she could feed him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"What is this place?" Natasha panted.

"Somewhere safe." Clint said, picking her up.

"Put me down... I can walk." she protested.

"Sure you can. But it will drive those bullets further into the muscle if you do. So how much do you want to hold onto your pride? And how much muscle damage do you want?" Clint growled at her.

Natasha fell silent as he carried her up to a three story farm house.

What was this place?

His home?

Were agents allowed to have homes?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Go back to sleep." Rain giggled as Cooper cooed happily in his crib.

A door opened downstairs and a voice filtered upstairs.

"Lights on in the kitchen but nobody's up? Go figure."

Rain flicked off the nursery light and headed downstairs.

"Dad?" She called softly.

"Kitchen!" Clint called back.

"I was up with Cooper... Is that Romanoff?" Rain began as she entered the kitchen.

"Yeah. She's got a bullet in her thigh. Took two more but they exited out the other side." Clint told her.

"And you brought her here?" Rain asked, staring at the Russian laid out on their table.

"It was the first place that came to mind. Come put pressure on this. The bullet's near her femoral artery and I'm worried she'll bleed out." Clint told her, motioning her to him.

"You live here?" Natasha whispered, turning her attention to Rain.

"Yeap. I'm the Hawk's daughter. Thought everyone knew that." Rain smirked.

Clint reappeared with a large first aid kit and said, "Run upstairs and get Laura. We're gonna need her help."

"She doesn't have to. What happened?" Laura asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Mission gone bad. Come help me clean her up will ya babe." Clint asked.

Laura kissed his cheek and helped prop Natasha up so Clint could clean up the bullet wound through her arm.

"Who are you?" Natasha hissed at Laura, squeezing her eyes shut.

"His wife. I'm also Rain's adopted mother." Laura told her.

"We can stitch this one and the one above her hip later. The bullet in her thigh is the priority. How's the bleeding Rain?" Clint whispered.

"Still going. It had slowed down but picked up when you propped her up." Rain said, pressing a new piece of gauze to the wound.

"It'll slack off again once we lay her down. Just keep pressure on it until I can get these two covered and then I'll wash up." Clint told her.

"Should we put her under?" Laura asked.

"We have Morphine?" Rain smirked.

"Amazing what you can sneak out of SHIELD infirmarys." Clint chuckled.

"No... No morphine." Natasha whispered.

"Honey, it's either that or you scream bloody murder the whole time. And we'd all rather you not since there's a baby in the house." Laura told her.

Natasha's eyes widened and she looked at Clint. "Baby?" She asked.

"Yeah our son. Get some sleep." Clint told her as Laura injected her with Morphine.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Natasha jerked awake at the sound of a baby crying.

A baby?

"How do you feel?"

"Groggy?" Natasha whispered, looking around and finding Rain sitting at the foot of the bed.

"You may heal fast but l wouldn't suggest trying to walk for a while. Might tear the stitches." Rain said.

"Why did I hear a baby?" Natasha whispered, sitting up.

"My little brother. Remember? We had this conversation already." Rain told her.

Natasha narrowed her eyes and growled, "Someone gave me Morphine."

"You're welcome for that. It made everything easier." Rain smirked.

"Rain? Is she awake?" Clint called.

"Yeah and pissed about the morphine!" Rain laughed.

"Of course. You hungry Tasha?" Clint smirked, stepping into the room.

"Don't call me Tasha. And yes... Please?" Natasha admitted.

"I'll go get her something to eat." Rain said, giving Natasha a look over.

Clint raised an eyebrow and Natasha stared at Rain's retreating back.

She recognized the look on Rain's face, having seen it on so many men's faces.

She was being hunted... And by Hawkeye's daughter of all people.

Interesting.

"What was that about?" Clint asked.

Natasha scoffed at him.


	10. Chapter 10

Author: been working a lot and writing on another project or three. I own Rain and nameless characters

Clint patted Cooper's back gently as he quietly sang to his son.

"Is he asleep?" Laura whispered.

"Just about. How are the girls?" Clint asked, putting Cooper down in his crib.

"Rain's in her hammock outside reading. Nat's asleep." She said.

"I'm sorry for bringing her here out of the blue. But she was hurt and I was running on autopilot." Clint sighed.

Laura wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "It's okay. If it hadn't happened now, it probably would have happened later."

Clint squeezed her before looking out the window towards where Rain had a hammock stretched between two trees in the yard. "Does she talk to you? About personal stuff?" He asked.

"Like what?" Laura inquired, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I don't know... Who she likes, what she thinks of the other young agents..." Clint muttered.

"I thought she'd talk to you about that since it's work related." Laura reminded him.

"It's just... She's nineteen and I don't remember ever hearing about her having a boyfriend. She's plenty old enough to be with someone." Clint told her.

Laura pulled on Clint's shirt to make him turn to look at her and asked, "What brought all this on? What are you worried about?"

Clint rested his forehead against her's and whispered, "Earlier... Right after Natasha woke up, the three of us were talking and Rain headed out to get her some food. But before she did, she gave Natasha this look. And I can't quite place it."

Laura giggled and shook her head. Her husband had amazing eyesight but he sometimes missed little details when it came to his loved ones.

"Honey... I think the reason you've never heard about Rain having a boyfriend is because she's not really into boys." Laura told him.

Clint pulled back to stare at her. "Not really into boys?" He asked before it clicked in his mind what he was being told.

Laura smiled and chuckled, "Sit down Hawkeye and I'll tell you how I found out."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Two years prior

"Oh that's good." Rain giggled through a mouth full of caramel.

"You have caramel all over your chin." Laura laughed.

Rain wiped at her mouth before offered her mother a bite of the caramel apple in her hand.

Laura shook her head before saying, "I wish Clint was here for this. He loves these little carnivals."

"Didn't he used to work one?" Rain asked.

"It was a circus." Laura corrected.

"I wish he was home too. It's a perfect day to spend a day out here." Rain agreed.

It was sunny but not too hot so Laura wore a floral print sun dress and sandals while Rain opted for a tank top, jeans and tennis shoes.

A little bit of makeup hid the scars on Rain's face and a little bit rubbed on her arm hid the scar there as well.

They could almost pass for sisters and had been asked several times already if they were.

"You have an admirer." Laura whispered.

"Oh... Where?" Rain hissed.

"Over there by the cotton candy spinner. Grey shirt, torn jeans, dark hair. Looks like he's sixteen." Laura told her.

Rain glanced in the cotton candy spinner's direction and found the young man who was watching her.

"He is cute but... Not really my type." She shrugged.

"How?" Laura asked.

Rain sat down at a bench and whispered, "I'm not really into boys. There's a few I've seen that are cute. But I'm not really attracted to them."

Laura sat beside her and asked, "What about girls?"

"Girls I like and feel some attraction too. I been attracted to a couple of boys. But it's mostly been girls." Rain admitted softly.

"So you're bisexual with a preference towards women... That's no big deal. At least not to me." Laura smiled.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Clint stared at Laura and asked, "How come nobody told me this?"

"I thought you knew. Or would at least figure it out eventually." Laura giggled.

Clint flopped back on the bed, shaking his head.

Laura flopped down beside him and said, "Honestly sweetheart... after what she went through it is a miracle she trusts anyone with her heart. As long as she's happy, I don't think it matters what gender her partner is."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Can't believe I didn't see it." Clint sighed.

Laura smiled and kissed his cheek.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Author: another time jump. Semi-established relationship between Rain and Natasha. Part one of a mini arc. I own Rain, nameless agents, Gieser and Winchester._**

"Looks like a big op." Rain whispered, glancing around the room as it filled up with agents.

"Seems like." Natasha agreed, recognizing Rumlow and May along with a few others.

"Think we'll get stuck together?" Rain whispered into Natasha's ear.

"Knowing our luck yes." Natasha smiled, brushing her hand against Rain's leg gently.

It had taken them a bit but they had worked things out between them and now had a semi-steady relationship.

Clint smiled and shushed them both as Coulson walked in.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We've recently received information that three prominent members of the Hong Branch of the Triad will be making port here in San Francisco tonight. They will be meeting to discuss setting up a new off branch here on the West Coast. Which we can't allow to happen." Coulson said.

"Which three?" Clint asked.

"Gao, Ling-Ling. Specialty: human trafficking. Chang, Lee. Specialty: weapons trafficking. Chang, Bu. Specialty: drugs." Coulson said as three small profiles appeared on the screen behind him.

"Well shit." Rumlow muttered.

"Why so many of us sir?" Rain asked.

"All three will be arriving on separate ships in three different locations before converging on a meeting place. The plan is to meet with and take out each member of the Triad before they converge. From there we move on the meeting place." Coulson said.

May stepped forward and said, "There will be four teams: Beta, Charlie, Delta and Echo. Beta will be led by myself, Charlie will be led by Rumlow and Delta will be led by Hawkeye. The team leaders will pick their team."

Clint looked at Rain and Natasha before they both pressed against his sides.

"It a smart idea to have Widow and the Hawk's kid here?" Rumlow asked.

"Are you questioning my authority Rumlow?" Coulson asked.

"No sir... Just your choices in agents." He muttered.

Coulson glared at him and Rain said, "Just keep doing what you're good at Rumlow: being a meat shield."

"Watch your mouth you little bitch." He snarled.

Rain pulled out her escrima sticks, thumbed a button on them and tapped the tips together to make electricity arc between them.

"Enough!" Coulson snapped as Rumlow backed off. He was strong and fast but not stupid enough to tangle with electricity.

"Team Echo will be the smallest and will consist of Agents Rain, Gieser and Winchester. They will be the eyes and ears for the other three teams. Agent Rain, you will in charge of Echo. Report any information you find regarding the meeting place. There is a list of possible locations within this." May said, handing a Manila envelope to her.

Rain shut off her escrima sticks, tucked them away and took the envelope.

"Rumlow, May, Hawkeye pick your teams then come see me. Rain, to me." Coulson said.

"Sir?" Rain whispered.

"I understand Rumlow can be aggravating on his best days but he is a good agent. And I expect more self-control from you. You moved through the ranks quickly and you will be expected to set the bar for new Baby Agents. Not just in their ability to handle training but also their behavior towards their fellow agents and superiors." Coulson told her.

Rain nodded slowly and said, "I'm sorry sir. But Rumlow rubs me the wrong way... I don't really trust him."

Coulson smiled and whispered, "He has that effect on a lot of agents. Sadly he also enjoys baiting people. When he tries it, don't take it... It will aggravate him."

Rain smirked and nodded as Coulson squeezed her shoulder gently before he sent her on her way.

"Hey. Coulson give you hell?" Clint whispered when Rain grabbed her jacket from beside him.

"A little bit." She shrugged.

"Be careful okay. A lot can go wrong with missions like this." Clint said gently.

Rain smiled and squeezed his hand tightly. "I'll be okay. Don't forget to call... Just in case this is the one you don't come back from." She said.

Clint nodded and whispered, "I will. And I'll tell her the same from you."

Natasha gave Rain a soft smile before ducking her head.

The two of them didn't say goodbye before they went on missions.

Not when they were both so sure of themselves that they would come back safely.


	12. Chapter 12

Author: cookies to whoever gets where the names of the other two agents come from ;)

"Any luck?" Rain called over her shoulder as the hotel room door shut.

"Not a damn bit. You?" Winchester asked, tossing off her jacket.

"Maybe. A few known associates of the triad's were spotted around this place but since Chinatown is crawling with members, it's impossible to say." Rain sighed.

"Any word from Gieser?" the other agent yawned.

"He checked in about an hour ago. Why don't you catch a shower and some sleep Sam?" Rain suggested.

"Good plan." Sam agreed.

Samantha Winchester was tall and lean with long black hair and dark hazel eyes.

Despite having been raised in a strict military family, the Australian woman was quirky, fun loving and easy going.

Rain returned to the files in front of her as the shower turned on.

Three possible locations: a hotel that doubled as a brothel, a restaurant that routinely hosted "private parties" and a homeopathic medicine shop that was a front for a gambling den.

They had taken turns watching each of the locations, making sure one stayed in the hotel room at all times just in case.

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later that made Rain grab her gun.

Nobody was supposed to know they were here... The room was paid for under fake names and room service never came around.

She unlocked the door and opened it slowly to reveal... The last member of their odd trio.

"Sorry... I couldn't find my key. I got dinner though." Herman Gieser said, holding a bag of take out.

"Get in here. Sam! Gieser got dinner!" Rain said, pulling him inside.

Gieser was a tech agent, mostly in charge of all the little audio and visual bugs they were using when they weren't at the locations themselves.

His auburn hair was always a mess and he wasn't in great shape, but despite that the girls found him amusing and helpful.

"Please tell me there's some mushu pork." Sam said, sticking her head out of the bathroom.

"Yeap. And plenty of spring rolls, rice, this cream cheese things Rain loves and everything else." Gieser smirked.

"Blow me and give over the sweet and sour chicken." Rain said, tearing one bag open.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Gieser said, "I don't think the medicine place is where this shendig is going down."

"No?" Rain asked.

"No. Haven't seen or heard anything that has to do with the Triad. What about the brothel?" Gieser shrugged.

"It's a brothel. Plenty of whores. Most of which seem to like girls." Sam said, smirking at Rain.

"No thank you. I've got me a honey. And we have not agreed to play with other people. Nor do I want a disease. Already got one: insanity." Rain chuckled.

Gieser laughed and almost choked on a mouthful of shrimp as Sam rolled of the edge of bed giggling.

"How does that line go? I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it?" Gieser asked.

"That's the one." Rain smirked as her laptop chimed and she accepted the video call.

"You three look like you're enjoying yourselves." Coulson smirked.

"We try." Rain shrugged as Sam picked herself up off the floor.

"Have you figured out the meeting place?" Coulson asked.

"We're pretty sure it's the restaurant sir. The brothel appears as normal as a brothel can. There hasn't been any talk or sightings of the Triad near the medicine shop. Not to mention the abnormal amount of security around the restaurant." Rain told him.

"The strike teams are moving on the docks in an hour. If everything goes as planned you three will have at least forty eight more hours to confirm the location of the meeting." Coulson told them.

"Gotcha boss." Gieser piped up as Sam shook her head.

"I'll have them both check in when its done." Coulson said, turning his attention to Rain.

"Thanks." She whispered.

Once the call was over, Sam wrapped an arm around Rain's shoulders and said, "No worries. Your honey and your dad are two of the best in the agency. They'll be alright."

"She has a point. Hawkeye and Widow have the highest success rate of any team in the agency." Gieser agreed.

"Alright, alright. Give me those cream cheese thingies and somebody find out if we have any chocolate. Otherwise someone is gonna run to the store for some." Rain smirked.

"That will be you." Sam told her.

"Nope. I have to be here to wait on a call." Rain chuckled.

"They don't move on the docks for a bloody hour." Sam shot back.

"So?" Rain laughed

Sam grabbed a pillow and threw it at Rain who tackled her and Gieser both to the floor.

"Pillowfight!" Gieser yelped, shoving a pillow in Sam's face as Rain smacked him with another pillow.

Coulson, Fury and a majority of the rest of their superiors would frown on their behavior... But this was SHIELD.

Parties, pranks and the like happened all the time... most people just tended to look the other way.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Author: been working on this one for a few days and finally getting it done and posted. I don't own: Clint, Nat, Rumlow, May or Coulson._**

"Beta, check in?" Coulson commanded

"In position at the western dock." May replied.

"Charlie?"

"We're ready at the south dock." Rumlow said.

"Delta?"

"North dock's secure sir." Natasha piped up.

"Where is Barton?" Coulson asked.

"Getting settled in a spot to snipe from." She told him.

"Sorry sir but you know me... I gotta be able to see from a distance." Clint cut in.

"I hope you found a good perch." Coulson sighed.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Clint smirked and said, "Damn right I did."

From his perch he could see the entire dock where the rest of his team was scattered... Along with several miles worth of ocean beyond.

"Switching channels." Natasha said from her hiding spot.

Her red hair stood out until she pulled a hood up to hide it.

Several clicks told him that his little team had switched channels.

"What is the plan?" a heavy accent asked.

Yuki was a petite Japanese agent who could almost match Rain and Nat in speed and agility.

"We wait until we know the target is far enough away from the water that she won't be able to bolt back that way. Yuki and Natasha will go after the target. Luther, Grey and Shane will focus on any body guards she has. I'll provide cover fire and take out any that try to run." Clint told them.

Luther was a big, burly agent from Brazil that Clint liked. He didn't have much to say but very few people willingly crossed the man.

Grey and Shane were a couple from somewhere in Colorado. They had grown up together and gone into the FBI, where they both excelled until SHIELD recruited them.

"Sounds easy." Shane chuckled, peeking over a crate at the rest of the team.

"Sounds like it, yeah but I doubt it will be. And don't worry Shane, I've got eyes on everyone including you and your other half." Clint told him.

Shane chuckled and Grey laughed while Natasha teased them in Russian.

Yuki giggled as Luther looked up at Clint before rolling his eyes.

"Have a bit of fun Luther." Yuki told him.

"I will. After the mission." Luther said.

Clint looked up as boat light's lit up the dock and whistled sharply over the com. "Settle in and nobody move until I say so." he told them.

"Releasing audio bug. It'll feed straight into our coms." Grey whispered.

A nickel sized metallic bug fluttered from where he was hiding over to the boat where it landed discretely on one of the figures there.

"Ms. Gao. Welcome to America. My men will take your bags if you'd like."

"Thank you. Mr. Wei, isn't it?"

"Yes though if you prefer you may call me..."

"I have no need to know more than your family name."

"Of course. Forgive me."

Clint held his breath as Ling-Ling, her companion and their body guards walked up the dock near where his team was waiting.

Nat and Yuki both shifted a little and he narrowed his eyes. "Not yet." He growled.

Luther, Grey and Shane all moved just a little bit closer to their targets.

"Have the others arrived?" Ling-Ling asked.

"Now." Clint hissed.

Natasha fired off two shots at Ling-Ling's companion, both of which struck him in the chest as Yuki hurled a knife at Ling-Ling herself.

Luther broke the neck of one body guard while Shane stabbed another in the heart.

"Grey, you've got two on your left." Clint said, staring through the crosshairs of his scope.

"Got 'em! Thanks Hawk!" Grey shouted, shooting them both.

Clint swung his attack back to the girls and their target.

Yuki was favoring her right side but he didn't see any blood.

"Foolish girl." Ling-Ling laughed, pulling a knife from her boot.

"You are the fool. You sell human beings for the pleasure of others. It could easily be you being sold." Yuki hissed.

"But it is not." Ling-Ling smirked.

She never knew Natasha was there until she hit the ground with two Widow Bites shoved against her back.

"Alive or dead?" Natasha asked.

"Dead. She's too dangerous to let live." Clint said.

"Yuki would you like to?" Natasha asked.

"I can not bend to do it without pain. But use my dagger." Yuki told her, pulling a dagger from her boot and passing it to Natasha.

Ling-Ling didn't even have a chance to scream as the blade between her ribs and into her heart.

"Yuki, how bad are you hurt?" Clint asked.

"A few bruised ribs I think." Yuki whispered.

Grey gently wrapped an arm around her waist and said, "Easy sweetheart I've got ya."

"Anyone else hurt?" Clint asked.

"A few bruises." Luther said.

"A scrape or three but we're both okay." Shane admitted, ruffling Grey's hair.

"Nat?" Clint asked.

"I'm fine. Do you want me to call Coulson and tell him we need a medic?" She asked.

"No. Help get Yuki comfortable and make sure she's not hurt anywhere else. Luther, Grey do a sweep and make sure they are not stragglers anywhere. Shane keep an eye on the girls." Clint told them, breaking down his sniper rifle.

"Roger that." four voices chimed.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"Base, this Delta. You read?" Clint's voice crackled.

Coulson tapped a button to accept the transmission. "It's about time. Both other teams just checked in." He said.

"The boat was a little late. The mission's done. We need a clean up crew and a medic." Clint told him.

"Who's hurt?" Coulson demanded.

"Yuki. We're pretty sure it's bruised ribs. The rest just have a few scrapes and bruises." Clint said.

"Alright. We'll get a medic out there. I spoke to Rain earlier. She and the rest of Echo believe that the restaurant is supposed to have been the meeting place." Coulson told him.

"Good to know. I'll check in with her once the clean up crew and medic get here." Clint sighed.


	14. Chapter 14

Author: yay for Strip poker! Lack of notes because I'm tired. Warnings for language, gambling and various states of undress.

"Damn it!" Sam growled, tossing her

cards onto the bed.

Rain smirked, pulled the money towards her and said, "You know the rules Sam. Take something off."

"I bloody fucking hate you." Sam growled, tugging her shirt over her head and tossing it on the floor.

Gieser whistled at the sight of Sam in her bra and grinned at Rain, who winked at him.

The trio had been playing strip poker for about an hour and they were all in some state of undress.

Gieser was sitting in a chair next to the bed in boxers and his undershirt.

Sam was in her bra and jeans but barefoot at the foot of the bed

Rain was in her sports bra, boy shorts, socks and boots at the head of the bed.

There was a nice pile of money sitting in Rain's lap, so it was pretty obvious who was winning.

"It could be your bra next Sam. Or maybe panties." Rain chuckled.

"I thought you and your honey hadn't agreed to play with other people." Sam scoffed.

"We can look." Rain shrugged as Eye of the Tiger started playing.

"That's your ringtone? Seriously?" Gieser laughed.

"There's not an Eye of the Hawk." Rain told him, thumbing the answer button.

"Three guesses who's calling." Sam chuckled.

"The first two don't count." Gieser smirked

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Hey kiddo. Sounds like you're having a party." Clint smiled.

"No. Just an hour of strip poker with a pretty lady and a nerdy boy." Rain laughed.

"I'm not going to tell Nat. She might get jealous." Clint said.

"Probably a good idea. How'd the mission go?" Rain asked.

"Well enough. One of my team has a few bruised ribs so she's being flown back to base soon. It's just scrapes and bruises on everyone else." Clint told her.

"Nat?" Rain whispered. The hitch in her voice didn't escape his notice.

"She's fine sweetheart. Yuki has the bruised ribs. But the on site medic says she'll heal up soon with some rest and time." Clint assured her.

Rain sighed in relief and a voice in the background asked, "Your honey alright?"

"She's fine. One of the other agents has bruised ribs. But she's gonna heal up according to my dad." Rain told whoever was in the room with her.

Clint turned at a touch on his shoulder and pulled the phone from his ear.

"Sorry Hawk but the flight back to base is about to leave and Yuki's asking after you." Shane whispered.

"Tell her I'll be there in a minute." He told him.

"Dad? You still there?" Rain was asking.

"Yeah but I need to let you go. The flight to base is leaving soon and Yuki is asking for me." Clint told her.

"Okay. Be safe. Tell Nat the same. And I'm going to forward all the information about the restaurant and the surrounding area to Coulson so he can prep the teams." she said.

"Sounds good. Talk later okay?" He whispered.

"Sure." Rain said before hanging up.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Grey was sitting next to Yuki when he walked up.

"Hi." Yuki whispered, looking up at Clint.

"Hey girl." He said, gently squeezing her hand.

"I am sorry I can be there for the raid. I wish I could be, but the medics they say..." Yuki told him.

"You've got nothing to apologize for. We'll take care of the raid and tell you all about it later. You just focus on healing up. Once you are, maybe me and you will put some of the Baby Agents through their paces." Clint interrupted.

Yuki smiled and said, "I would like that."

"Then focus on healing." Clint told her firmly.

"I will." Yuki promised.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Author: some more fun for our three favorite young agents. And so everyone knows: Gieser is my version of Newt Gieser from Pacific Rim played by Charlie Day. And yes Sam Winchester from Supernatural is a sexy, funny, female Aussie. Hopefully this will make someone's (overlord) return a good one. Rain doesn't like people drinking for obvious reasons. Enjoy._**

"Rain." Gieser chirped.

"Hmmm?" She hummed, not looking up from her laptop.

"You said that our end of the mission is done right?" Gieser asked.

"As soon as I finish forwarding this information to Coulson. Why?" She muttered.

"So we can go out and buy some booze yeah?" Sam piped up.

Rain glared at them over her shoulder and asked, "Seriously?"

"What? Aren't you legal?" Sam asked.

"Yes I'm legal but that's beside the point. I don't drink." Rain said.

"Why not?" Gieser asked.

Rain sighed and got up to go wash the makeup off her face and her arm. Ever since Laura had discovered how well a little bit of makeup smudged onto Rain's arm hid the scar there, it was something she routinely wore.

"My biological parents were both drunks. My birth mother really liked hurting me. She put these scars on me." Rain told them when she returned.

Sam gingerly tilted Rain's head to get a better look at the scars on her face and then looked at the one on her arm.

"The bitch is dead right?" She growled.

"Yeah, they both are. Alcohol poisoning." Rain whispered.

"Then we won't go out and get any booze. But I think something sinfully sweet would work?" Gieser asked.

"Yeah... That'll work." Rain agreed.

"Come with us?" Sam asked.

Rain shook her head and said, "I got to finish getting this information to Coulson. Otherwise the mission could be compromised."

"And since your dad and your lady are out there, you can't let that happen right?" Gieser smirked.

"Of course not." Rain agreed.

"Alright. We'll go get something for everyone. You stay here and work. Just keep your comm on." Sam said.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Sir all the information from Agent Rain and team Echo just came in regarding the location for the strike tomorrow."

Coulson yawned and said, "Sort it out, make it manageable then let me see it."

"Umm, it already is sorted and manageable."

Coulson chuckled and said, "The only agent I know who makes paperwork presentable when she doesn't need to."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"What did Rain say she likes? White chocolate? With orange?" Gieser asked.

"Yeah. She'll probably like these things." Sam said, holding up several white chocolate oranges.

"Probably." Gieser shrugged, grabbing several bags of gummy candies.

Sam rolled her eyes and a few bags of dark chocolate for herself. "Grab some of those creme sodas." She said, grabbing a twelve back of soda.

"I thought we were buying chocolate. This is enough for an all night party between the three of us. Or a small frat party." Gieser smirked.

"This is on SHIELD's tab not ours mate." Sam laughed.

"Not so loud." Gieser hissed as a few heads turned their way.

Sam cringed and whispered, "Damn it. Too much time on base."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Rain?!" Sam called.

"Shower!" Rain shouted.

Sam stuck her head into the bathroom and said, "We got drinks and plenty of junk food. As Gieser said, we got enough for either an all night party for the three of us or a small frat party."

Rain laughed, turned off the water and said, "I'll be out in a minute. Hand me that small towel would you?"

Sam passed her the towel before stepping out of the bathroom to see Gieser piling sodas into their cooler.

"She almost done?" Gieser asked.

"Yeah. Hand over one of the creme sodas?" Sam asked, tossing a bag of gummies at him.

"Make it two of those creme sodas." Rain said, stepping into the room in sweats and a tank top.

"Coulson got all our info?" Gieser asked.

"Yeap. He sent me a message back telling us to take the rest of the night and tomorrow off. A few of the agents will be around tomorrow after the raid to get us." she told him.

"Music?" Gieser asked.

"None of the Ukrainian House Rock or whatever the hell you listen to please? I want to keep my hearing." Sam laughed.

"Hey the shit Americans have made recently sucks. All that Pop. How do you even stand it Rain?" Gieser asked.

"I've wanted to burn Pop for years. We don't listen to it, me and Dad." Rain chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed with a soda and white chocolate orange.

"Probably for the best." Sam smirked, stretching out beside her.


	16. Chapter 16

Author: happy 4th of July to everyone who celebrated. I've found I like the idea of Clint or Rain or Natasha butting heads with Rumlow.

"I fucking hate early mornings." Clint yawned.

Natasha took a sip of her coffee and whispered, "Yuki checked in about half an hour ago. Medical says three bruised ribs. They taken her off duty for a few weeks. She told me she's going to fly to Kyoto and see her sister."

"That's good. She deserves the time off." Clint muttered, taking a long drink of coffee.

Not many of the agents going on the mission were morning people.

Grey and Shane were dozing in a corner together while one of Rumlow's men yawned nearby.

May and Coulson both looked a little rough, which told Clint that neither of them had slept the night before.

"Is everyone here? And awake enough to listen?" Coulson asked.

Luther pressed a cup of coffee into Shane's hand and pulled Grey to his feet.

"More or less." Clint sighed.

"According to the information we received last night from Echo, the meeting is supposed to take place at this location: The Golden Temple." May said as a picture of the restaurant appeared on the screen.

"It's a restaurant." Rumlow scoffed.

"One that has very heavy traffic from the Triad and bodyguards posted all around the building. The Golden Temple is often closed for "private parties" which we believe are actually meetings amongst Triad members. Out of the three locations investigated, this one shows the most promise to be the site of the meeting that was supposed to happen between the three Triad members we have already disposed of. This meeting will help us destroy some of the Triad influence here on the West Coast." Coulson said.

Rumlow rolled his eyes which made Clint growl.

"Rumlow." May warned.

"What's your malfunction Rumlow?" Clint growled.

"I don't trust your girl. I think she got tossed up in rank because she's your girl and you are one of Fury's war dogs." Rumlow told him.

Luther, Grey, Shane and Natasha moved to form a semi circle behind Clint.

"Really? What do you think she did? Fuck him? Pay him off? Fury doesn't play those games you asshole." Clint snapped.

"You tell me. Or maybe I should ask your little red haired whore." Rumlow smirked.

Rumlow didn't get any warning that Clint was about to move until he already had.

Two of May's team yelped and moved out of the way as Clint slammed Rumlow chest first into the table.

"You son of a bitch!" Rumlow yelped.

"One more word Rumlow and it may be your last." Clint growled, pressing his knife against the side of Rumlow's throat.

"Let him go Hawkeye." May snapped.

"Leave them be. Rumlow's been asking for this since the start of this mission." Luther said.

"Listen to me you sorry sack of shit. If you ever take pot shots at either of my girls and I will end you. If you even hint at a pot shot, I will end you. Very slowly and very painfully. You will beg for death before I get done with you." Clint snarled.

Rumlow twitched but didn't struggle... He rather not have his throat slit by a man who would do so in a heartbeat.

"Let him go Hawk. I don't think he'll cross you again." Coulson said.

"Better not." Clint hissed, sheathing his knife.

"You all have two hours until the raid. Hawk, you are in charge. Anyone have any objections to that?" Coulson said, glaring at Rumlow who didn't meet his gaze.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Author: this is the only chapter I will probably apologize for. I love Sam and Gieser mostly because I see Charlie Day when I write him. But because of events going on in the RP this is the back story for, Rain needed this loss. I really am sorry for this chapter._**

Rain rolled over and blinked at the two agents stretched out by her.

Sam was hugging her pillow and murmuring something Rain couldn't understand.

Gieser on the other hand was sprawled across the bed and snoring quietly.

After their sugar highs has run out about five in the morning, they had all crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.

The room only had one bed because they thought none of them would sleep much on this mission.

They had been right... More or less.

They had traded sleeping shifts, making sure one person was always awake at a time.

It had been a little awkward at first but they all soon gave up caring.

"Fuck we left a mess." Rain yawned, pushing one of Gieser's legs away to get up.

"Mmm... Hmm?" Gieser grumbled.

"Go back to sleep." She whispered.

"Time's it?" He muttered.

"About nine. The strike team's about to move on the restaurant probably." she told him.

"You sleep." He said, trying to grab her and pull her back onto the bed.

"I'm gonna clean this room up. We should be getting out of here later." She smirked, ruffling his hair.

There were soda bottles, cans, candy wrappers and bags scattered everywhere.

The entire room smelled like sugar and chocolate.

And looked like a bunch of five years had been let loose.

There were chocolate smears on the the tables, pillows were tossed across the room and there were feathers scattered across the floor.

It was probably the victim of another pillow fight between the three of them, this one apparently more violent than the first.

A sharp knock on the door woke up Sam and Gieser.

"One of the strike team?" Sam yawned.

"Too early. Unless I got the time wrong. I think we got pretty rowdy this morning so it could be the hotel manager." Rain shrugged.

"There's a feather in your hair." Gieser said.

Rain tossed the feather aside and opened the door.

Four men immediately rushed in, shoving her behind the open door.

"Shit!" Gieser yelped, scrambling away. He was barely trained for combat, only knowing the basics of how to defend himself and shoot a gun.

"Sam! Protect Gieser!" Rain shouted, slamming the door shut and locking it.

One man pulled out a knife and spun at Rain, smirking.

"Stupid girl. You and your friends are careless." He told her.

"Maybe but you're not very bright." She growled, diving at his knees.

The man tripped and dropped his knife, which Rain promptly grabbed and stabbed into his skull.

A sharp pop caught her attention.

There was a trickle of blood coming out of Gieser's mouth and he was staring down at the growing red stain on his shirt.

Sam sobbed and shot two of their attackers before a knife embedded itself in her stomach.

Rain pulled the knife from her dead opponent's skull and threw it at the final man.

He collapsed to the floor with the knife in his throat.

Rain touched Gieser's neck but found no pulse.

She kissed his forehead and gently dragged his body over towards Sam.

"Are you... You okay?" Sam whimpered.

"Don't talk. I'm gonna call for help." Rain whimpered.

She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed Coulson, who answered on the first ring.

"The strike team just went in..." He began.

"We've been compromised... Someone found us... I don't know how... Gieser's dead and Sam's hurt." Rain whimpered.

"Damn it! Stay where you are. We'll be there soon." Coulson said.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Rain looked up when the door burst open, blinking owlishly in the bright sunlight.

"Holy shit."

Three figures immediately came into the room and crouched down around her: Coulson, her father and Natasha.

"The bleeding wouldn't stop... I couldn't make it stop." She whimpered, staring down at Sam's prone form.

"Rain, honey. Listen to my voice okay? We need to get you, Sam and Gieser out of here. But you need to let her go." Coulson said firmly.

"Let her go?" She whispered.

"Yes. We need to move her. So we can take her back to her family." Coulson told her.

She nodded slowly and let go of Sam's hand, which she had been squeezing.

A man she didn't know stepped forward and very gently took Sam away while another gathered up Gieser.

Rain felt herself being lifted up and slid her arms around her father's neck. "We screwed up... They said we were careless." Rain whimpered.

"Shhh sweetie. We're gonna take you back to base then we'll go home." Clint whispered, kissing her hair.

Natasha leaned in and kissed Rain's cheek. "I'm right here." She told her.

"Damn. I've seen agents twice her age go rogue or even just end it after something like this."

"I know Grey. I went on those missions too."

"Who are they?" Rain whimpered.

"Friends of mine. Guys?" Clint said.

Both men walked over and one squeezed Rain's hand tightly.

"I'm Shane, this is my other half Grey. If you ever need to talk, get our numbers from your dad."

Rain nodded slowly and whispered, "Thank you."

"Clint. A clean up crew is on their way. Take your daughter to base. And as soon as she's cleared, take her home. Let her be with her mother." Coulson said, joining them.

Clint nodded slowly and looked down at Rain who was staring at the body bags that held her friend's.

Coulson kissed Rain's forehead and whispered, "I'm sorry."


	18. Chapter 18

**_Author: hopefully this will redeem me partially for what happened last chapter. Hope you enjoy this one. And I also realized I misjudged how old Cooper and Lila seem to be. At least I think I did. Lots of cute family moments and some romance between Rain and her honey._**

March 2011.

Natasha parked her car and stared up at the farm house she called home.

Home.

Where two small children were waiting for their "aunt".

Where her best friend and his wife lived in peace, away from SHIELD.

Where there was a guest room with a beautiful view of the sunset that she rarely slept in because she preferred the view of her girlfriend in the first light of dawn.

She skipped the first step on the porch which had squeaked last time she was home and let herself inside.

The house was quiet... All the better for her to sneak upstairs to go see her girlfriend.

Rain was still sound asleep and looking more peaceful than she had in quite some time.

Since San Francisco... since Gieser and Sam had been murdered... Rain had nightmares most nights.

Natasha stepped out of her boots and crawled onto the bed to stretch out beside Rain.

"Hello my love. I'm home." Natasha whispered.

"Tasha?" Rain yawned, rolling over.

"Hey." Natasha smiled.

Rain wrapped an arm around her and whispered, "I missed you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. How's the family?" Tasha whispered, stroking her hair.

"Everyone's fine. Cooper starts school in a few weeks. Lila is covering the house with her pictures." Rain chuckled.

"Sounds like nothing's changed. What's Clint's current project?" Tasha asked.

"Barn roof. Part of it collapsed during the big storm we got last a few weeks back. I've been helping him with it." Rain said.

"That's why you looked sunburnt." Tasha whispered, stroking the reddened skin of her shoulders.

"Just a little. What time is it?" Rain muttered, rolling over.

"About seven or so. Is it your turn to make breakfast?" Tasha told her.

"No it's dad's." She admitted.

Tasha kissed her and whispered, "Then there's no reason for you to get out of bed yet."

Rain smiled and tangled her hands in her girlfriend's hair. "No. I guess there really isn't." She smirked.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Morning girls." Clint smirked when Natasha and Rain finally appeared for breakfast.

"Auntie Nat!" Lila and Cooper shouted, running to her.

"Hi you two. After breakfast, we can go out to my car and see what's hiding in my trunk this time. How's that sound?" Natasha smiled, hugging them both before scooping up Lila.

"Yay!" Lila chirped.

Ever since Nat had started coming around routinely, she had started picking up toys and things for them on her way to the house. Once she got there, the kids would be allowed to pull whatever was hiding in her trunk out.

"You're going to spoil them Nat." Laura said, hugging her tightly.

"I'm allowed." Natasha chuckled.

"You also have a love bite on your shoulder." Laura whispered in her ear.

"I don't care." Natasha whispered back, smirking at the similar mark on Rain's neck.

"Should I soundproof your room?" Clint teased as Rain poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Gonna add that to the list of what your plan to fix even though it ain't broken?" Rain teased back.

"Are you sure they aren't related?" Natasha asked Laura.

"Yes. Though sometimes I wonder." Laura admitted.

Rain laughed and shoved Clint away from the stove to get breakfast. "Nat do you want a bit of everything?" She called over her shoulder.

"All except for sausage if it's greasy." Nat told her, sliding Lila back into her chair and settling in beside her.

"How was work?" Clint asked Nat.

"Not too bad. It was just a milk run to get some information." Natasha shrugged.

"Anything coming up?" Rain asked, passing Natasha a plate.

"Yes actually. Can we talk with the kids in the room?" Natasha asked.

"We can wait." Clint shrugged.

"I was going to take the kids down to the Rameriez's farm today. They have a several large patches of berries and invites us out to pick as much as we can carry home. I think Mariana also said something about having some duck eggs for us. You three can talk about whatever you need to then." Laura said.

"Thank you babe." Clint said, kissing her cheek.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Rain stretched out in the porch swing as Natasha ran her fingers through her hair.

"So what's coming up?" Clint asked, leaning against the porch railing.

"Fury has put the Avenger's Initiative into motion. I'm supposed to be going under cover to evaluate Tony Stark as a potential candidate." Natasha said.

"Tony Stark? Fury wants Iron Man?" Clint scoffed.

"Honestly I think it has more to do with Fury wanting to be able to keep an eye on Stark. The man is a live wire and a wild card." Natasha admitted.

"Who else is on this candidate list?" Rain asked.

"All I know is Stark." Tasha told her.

"Damn Fury and his secrets." Rain sighed.

"Have you met him?" Clint chuckled.

"Smart ass." Rain said, tossing a bottle cap at him.

"And you wonder where you get it from." Clint laughed.

Natasha rolled her eyes and kissed Rain before whispering in Russian, "Your father is an idiot."

"Yes he is." Rain agreed.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Author: sorry for the lack of update. Work has kept me pretty damn busy. Anyways: this one is set during Iron Man 2 and doubles as a nice deleted scene in my head. Bit of talk of girl/girl sex and raunchy photos. I own Rain_**

 _Another language_

 ** _May 29, 2011_**

"If this was your last birthday party ever, how would you spend it?" Tony asked.

Natasha watched him quietly.

He looked so sad and lonely that it almost, almost broke her heart.

"I would spend it doing whatever I wanted to with whoever I wanted to it with." She told him before getting up.

"Natalie?" He called.

She paused at the door and asked, "Yes Mr. Stark?"

"Thank you. For your honesty." Tony whispered.

She wanted to laugh and ask why the hell he thought she was being the tiniest bit honest with him... Until she realized that she had been.

If she was dieing, she would spent her last birthday with Clint, Laura, the kids and most of all Rain out on the ranch.

They would throw a small party with all her favorite foods to eat.

The kids would run around in the snow covered yard until they were red in the face then come inside and drink hot chocolate.

Clint would put the little ones to bed while Laura would pull down a bottle of Vodka while Rain made herself some coffee.

And then at the end of the night, she and Rain would go upstairs to their room, make love until dawn and sleep until mid afternoon.

 ** _-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-_**

"Natalie. There's a woman named Nyssa here to see you." Pepper called as she walked into the room.

Natasha cocked her head a little as her visitor stepped into view.

"Hello love." came a soft, rich and cultured voice that made her shiver.

Rain's hair was cut into a shaggy shoulder length bob and she wore a button down shirt and slacks.

She always looked beautiful but tonight she was stunning... And that accent. Not even Natasha could place exactly what it was.

"I thought you were still in Italy." Natasha said with a soft smile.

"I was worried about you after I saw what happened with Stark in Monte Carlo so I flew back to US as soon as I could." Rain purred.

Pepper cleared her throat politely and Natasha turned to her. "Miss Potts, this is my girlfriend: Nyssa Baelton. She's a photographer." she said, slipping an arm around Rain's waist.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Natalie didn't mention a significant other." Pepper said, shaking Rain's hand.

"I can understand why. Same sex couples are still frowned upon in places and some companies." Rain shrugged.

"Is this going to be a problem Miss Potts?" Natasha asked.

"Will it?" Pepper countered.

"I have never made a pass at any of my bosses. I consider it extremely unprofessional." Natasha assured her.

Pepper nodded as Tony walked up to join them. "Are you alright?" She whispered.

"I'm fine. Who is this lovely lady?" Tony asked, looking Rain over.

"Nyssa Baelton." Rain told him.

"How do you spell that?" He asked.

"First or last?" She smirked.

"Last mostly." Tony shrugged.

"B-A-E-L-T-O-N. But it's pronounced Bell-Ton." She said as a fire sparked to life behind Tony's eyes.

"Nyssa was the photographer for my modeling shoot in Tokyo. We met there and started dating shortly after." Natasha told him.

"So you are the wonderful mind behind those beautiful photos." Tony smiled.

"Yes I'm glad to say I am." Rain smirked as Natasha blushed a little.

They had done that photo shoot in a little studio apartment in San Franciso a couple of weeks ago.

And at home, safe on Rain's laptop, were dozens of private photos that would only ever be shared between the two of them.

"What brings you to my party Nyssa? May I call you Nyssa?" Tony asked.

"I was in Italy doing a shoot when I saw news about what happened in Monte Carlo. Natalie had told me she had gotten the job as your personal assistant so I was concerned for her well being and flew back to the U.S. as soon as my shoot was finished. I thought if she'd be anywhere it would where you were throwing a party." Rain admitted.

"Well she is very safe. And she is a wonderful assistant." Pepper said.

"I'm glad. You don't mind if I stay with Natalie a while longer and enjoy the party?" Rain asked.

"No, no. Enjoy away and stay as long as you want. Though I am going to get a drink if you ladies will excuse me." Tony laughed before making his way to the bar.

Pepper sighed and said, "Nyssa it was very nice to meet you. I believe I should go try to keep an eye on Tony."

Rain nodded as she walked away and let Natasha steer her to an out of the way corner.

 _"What are you really doing here?"_ Natasha hissed.

 _"I told Fury from the start that I didn't trust Stark to keep his paws off you."_ Rain told her.

 _"Stark hasn't touched me. He's oogled me plenty but that's part of the plan so he doesn't suspect me being a spy."_ Natasha growled.

 _"I wasn't lieing when I said that I was worried about you after what happened in Monte Carlo. That Vanko guy might after been after Stark but you were really close to all that too. I don't want you hurt because someone has a grudge against this dumbass billionaire."_ Rain whispered.

Natasha's eyes widened a bit.

Rain had flown to California and made a fake persona just to make sure she was safe and unharmed.

 _"I can take care of myself... But I'm glad you came."_ Natasha whispered.

Rain kissed her gently and said, _"I have one more thing to tell you. But it's work related."_

Natasha glanced around and nodded slowly.

" _Fury isn't so sure that the body they found in Vanko's cell was actually him. There's some missing security footage from just before the explosion. And another of the inmates went mission about the same time."_ Rain muttered

 _"Damn."_ Natasha sighed.


	20. Chapter 21

**_Author: I'm back! I'm so sorry I haven't updated lately. But I haven't had time to sit and watch Iron Man 2 to continue this story. Tried to keep as close to the movie as I could. I own Rain._**

Natasha jumped at the sound of a crash and looked over her shoulder in time to see Tony, in his suit, slide to the floor drunkenly.

"Oh damn it." Rain sighed.

"Welcome to life with Tony Stark." Natasha sighed in Russian.

"And Fury wants him as part of the Avengers." Rain scoffed.

Tony staggered to his feet and grabbed a microphone. "You know... the question I get asked most is, "Tony how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?"

He paused and then a few seconds later said, "Just like that."

Rain made a face and pretended to gag as Tony giggled while Pepper stepped up on the stage and took the microphone.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" She asked, patting Tony gently on the back.

The crowd gathered around them cheered and Tony giggled, "I love you."

Pepper chuckled and said, "Thank you. Thank you Tony for such a wonderful party. And we're gonna say good night now, and thank you all for coming."

"No, no, no, no, no... Wait... We can't. We didn't have the cake, we didn't blow out the candles." Tony whined.

Natasha cocked her head as Pepper tried to get Tony to calm down and send everyone home.

"Smart woman." She whispered.

"Pepper Potts. And she's right, the party is overs. Then again, the party was over for me, like.. And hour and a half ago. The after party however starts in 15 minutes." Tony announced.

"I want to shoot him." Rain grumbled as the crowd applauded.

"And anybody, Pepper, doesn't like it... There's the door." Tony said, firing a repulsor blast at a nearby sheet of glass that shattered.

"I'm done. I can't do this anymore." Rain told Natasha, kissing her cheek.

"Where are you heading?" Natasha asked as a wine bottle exploded over head.

"To tell Fury how much of a dumbass Tony Stark is. And that this is a very bad idea." Rain told her.

"Good luck." Natasha called.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Fury glanced up from the files on his desk as his cell phone began to ring.

"Agent." He said, answering and putting it on speaker.

"Sir, Tony Stark is an extremely loose cannon and should not be considered for the Avenger Initative." Rain told him.

Fury sighed and muttered, "I am aware that he is an unlikely candidate for the Initative but we need an individual with his talents."

"Talents such getting ridiculously wasted and using repulsor blasts to destroy wine bottles and watermelons." Rain demanded.

"Talents to throw SHIELD technology at least a decade into the future in considerably less time. And to use his suit to protect the world from threats that maybe too powerful for the military to handle." Fury told her.

"Such as?" Rain asked.

"Check your email." He told her as her phone beeped.

She pulled the phone away and looked at her email to see several articles about Bruce Banner.

"The Hulk?" She asked.

"I'm sending you to shadow Banner. Be extremely cautious with him. We do not need any sort of incident concerning the Hulk." Fury told her.

"Son of a bitch." She groaned.

"Banner passed through US Customs earlier today. Look for more information concerning his current where abouts shortly." Fury said, before hanging up.


	21. Chapter 22

**_Author: trying for two chapters to make up for lost time. Fury, Ross, his soldiers, Banner/Hulk, Elizabeth/Betty and SHIELD belong to Marvel. Set during Incredible Hulk._**

Rain flipped through the case file, re-reading the news reports about the "green Sasquatch" and "monster sightings".

"General Ross is gonna be pissed as hell if he finds out Fury wants you bad." She whispered.

"Excuse me?" the woman next to her asked in French.

"Talking to myself and reading a rough draft a friend sent me." She lied in rough French.

"Is good?" the woman asked in broken English.

"Is okay. Military. Spies." She shrugged.

"Romance better." The woman smiled, showing her the romance novel with a pretty woman and a man wearing only torn jeans on the cover.

Rain laughed and tucked the case file back in her bag before closing her eyes as the woman went back to her book.

Spare time was best used to plan for the mission, especially with someone as unpredictable and dangerous as Banner and his big, green other half.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Culver University, Virginia**

There was a crackle of static then:

"We've got confirmed sightings of Banner."

"Where?" Rain asked.

"On campus. He's with Elizabeth Ross." the same agent said.

"Give me a visual." Rain said, pulling out her phone.

"This is live feed." a second agent said as she watched Elizabeth Ross and Banner walk.

"Where is Banner running to?" She asked, noticing Banner's pack.

"We believe he's leaving town." The agent feeding her the video said.

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Obviously."

Banner looked around before grabbing Ross and saying something to her.

"Agent Barton? We've got incoming. U.S. Military." an agent said.

Rain glared as a jeep drove over the lawn and Banner bolted.

"It's General Ross! Get Fury on the line now before that dumbass blows this entire operation!" Rain snapped.

Soldiers and vehicles filled the lawn as Rain ducked behind a tree. One soldier raced past all the others before coming to a stop well ahead of his fellows.

"Should we maintain visuals?" an agent asked in her ear.

"Yes. We're going to need it later." Rain hissed.

"Ma'am Director Fury is currently unreachable." another agent said.

"Keep trying." Rain snarled.

"We've lost visual on Banner. He's entered the building." the first agent said.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"He's in the overpass. Soldiers have him pinned down." an agent said Rain's ear.

Rain watched as General Ross appeared nearby with his daughter in tow.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

"Agent Rain Barton. I work for SHIELD. And thanks to your idiotic vendetta, my mission is probably blown out of the water." Rain said.

"Girl. You need to learn to respect your superiors." Ross growled.

"You are far from my superior, old man. And the only people who I respect are people who earn it." Rain told him.

"He's locked in!" a voice shouted over Ross's radio.

"Put two canisters in there with him." Ross snapped.

A pair of soldiers ran up and fired gas canisters into the overpass where Banner was contained.

"You are a complete dumbass Ross." Rain growled.

Ross narrowed his eyes at Rain as his daughter ran past him and he said, "Get her back here."

Two soldiers gave chase and one fell when Ross's daughter elbowed him on the face but another tackled her.

A minute later the glass in the smoke filled overpass shattered and the giant, green rage monster jumped down to the lawn.

"Ma'am... if I may... I'd suggest getting the fuck out of there." an agent whimpered in Rain's ear.

"Damn good idea. Maintain aerial visuals." Rain agreed before she ran into the woods.


	22. Chapter 23

**_Author: direct follow up to last chapter. Warning for some rough language. And I really don't like Edward Norton so I'm subbing Mark Ruffalo in as Banner. Banner/Hulk, Ross, his soldiers, Sterns and Betty all belong to Marvel._**

 **SHIELD base, classified location**

"Agent Barton?" a young agent, one of the ones who had been in Rain's ear, asked.

"What is it? Agent... Wilkins." Rain grumbled, glancing at his badge.

"We've been watching the General's team's computers and we found out that Banner was in contact with a "Mr. Blue." Which is actually an alias for a Doctor Samuel Sterns. He's works for Grayburn College in New York City." Wilkins said, passing her a file with copies of the messages sent between "Mr. Blue" and "Mr. Green".

"I know the college. I took a handful of language classes there over the Internet." Rain said.

Wilkin's shifted from foot to foot uneasily and stared at the ground.

"What?" Rain asked.

"We also have a small problem." Wilkin's admitted.

"Define small problem." Rain hissed.

"Someone... someone leaked the information about Sterns. The leak went straight to one of computers that Ross's team is using." Wilkins whispered.

Rain's eyes flashed and she pulled out her phone. "Get me Fury... Now." She snarled.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Fury groaned as he answered his phone. "I've been trying to corral Stark, keep an 0-8-4 from the public and trying to hunt down Banner. Which you are currently in charge of and allowing to get wildly out of control. Now please tell me you have some good news." He demanded.

"The Hulk incident in Virginia was Ross's fault not mine. And I have worse news: someone leaked some vital information regarding where Banner is headed to Ross and his team." Rain told him.

"Mother fucker!" Fury shouted.

"My thoughts exactly. So now we need to find out who leaked that information." Rain sighed.

"Get the Banner issue under control. And I will find out who leaked the information." Fury demanded.

"Can you talk to Ross and make him back the fuck off?" Rain growled.

"That's a tall order." Fury told her.

"Not as tall as making him pull the stick out of his ass." She scoffed.

"True." Fury chuckled.

"Hey boss? When you find our leak, can I have some time alone with them?" Rain asked, voice dripping with venom.

"Yes girl. I think I can arrange that."

Fury growled.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 **New York City**

"Doctor Sterns?!" Rain shouted, banging on the office door.

"Who is that?"

"Damn graduate students. Hold on."

The door opened and a man in blue stuck his head out.

"My office hours are posted on the door. Please come back then." He said, eyeing Rain.

"I am not one of your students. My name is Rain Barton. I work for SHIELD." she told him.

"Never heard of it." He said, trying to shut the door.

Rain shoved one of her Escrima sticks in the doorway to keep it from closing and said, "You want to let me in Doctor. My organization doesn't take no for an answer."

"Alright." He whispered.

"Who is that?" Betty asked as Sterns let Rain inside.

"Rain Barton. I work for SHIELD. I followed you two here from Virginia." Rain told them.

"Do you work with my father?" Betty demanded.

"Not a chance in hell." Rain assured her.

Betty was pretty, not nearly as much as Natasha, but pretty enough.

The man beside her could easily get lost in a crowd and while not particularly attractive, he had a kind face.

"Doctor Banner." Rain said by way of greeting.

"Miss Barton." He whispered.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"We started on rats and mice but it just completely fried them so we had to go bigger. And we still don't know which is more toxic: the gamma or your blood." Sterns said, leading them back into a cold room full of cases of blood bags.

"What do you mean my blood?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce, this is all you. You didn't send me much to work with so I had to concentrate it and make more. With a little more trial and error, there's no end to what we can do! This is potentially Olympian! This gamma technology has limitless applications. We'll unlock hundreds of cures. We will make humans impervious to disease!" Sterns rambled.

"No, no we've got to destroy it." Banner said.

"Wait? What?" Sterns asked.

"All of it. Tonight, we're gonna incinerate it. Is this the whole supply?" Banner demanded.

"What? We could get the Nobel for this!" Sterns protested.

"You don't understand the power of this thing. It is too dangerous. It can not be controlled." Bruce told him.

"Ma'am. There's a complication. Ross's soldiers are at your location." an agent said as Banner and Sterns argued.

"Stop arguing you idiots. We have.." Rain began as a window shattered and a tranquilizer dart buried itself in Banner's shoulder.

"Bruce." Betty cried.

"Get out of here." Banner whispered as a second window shattered.

Rain jumped when a dart tagged her side. "Shit." She whispered, sliding to the floor.

Sterns backed away as she struggled with a pocket in her jacket. "Come on." She panted, forcing her hands to work.

The syringe clattered and rolled to the floor by Betty's foot. "Adrenaline. That dosage was meant for Bruce. It was too much for her." She whispered.

Betty dove forward and plunged the syringe into Rain's neck as the door burst open and soldiers began to flood the room.


	23. Chapter 24

**_Author: I will admit... I really didn't want to try to write up all the fight scenes. So excuse the jumps and my poor girl being unconscious from time to time. Follows to almost the end of Incredible Hulk._**

"Agent Barton?! Agent barton?! Do you copy?"

Rain blinked awake and cocked her head a bit, trying to figure out why there was a voice in her ear.

"Agent Barton?!"

The mission... Banner... Ross... it all came flooding back quickly.

She cringed and reached up to try to touch her com, only to find her ability to move limited by the zip ties around her waist connected to a nylon rope that was also looped around her waist.

If she was in a better mood, she might applaud Ross's attempt to keep her from her weapons.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked, not in her ear this time.

She glanced over at Doctor Banner sitting not even a foot away, holding Betty's hands and whispered, "I'm fine."

"I don't think she can hear us."

Rain bent over and rested her head on her arms, tapping her com and whispering in Russian: "I can hear you. But I've been captured by the general's men."

"Your vitals dropped then spiked dangerously. Are you alright?" one of the agents asked.

"They shot me with a massive dose of tranquilizer. The general's daughter got adrenaline in my system. But I passed out for a few." she muttered, keeping to Russian.

"Can you get free?" another agent asked.

"I'll let you know." she whispered before she sat back up.

The phone one of the soldiers carried rang and the soldier listened for a moment before shouting, "General! You should hear this!"

Rain watched Ross take the phone and listen before looking at Banner and said, "That's impossible. You get ahold of yourself, young man. You get it together. What is your position?"

"Agent Rain... the Hulk has been spotted in the streets."

"Turn us around." Ross commanded.

"We're going back. Why are we going back?" Banner asked.

"Something like the Hulk has been spotted in the street." Rain whispered.

"Damn it! Give me eyes down there!" Ross snapped.

A video of an explosion appeared on one of the cockpit screens and Banner jumped up to watch.

"What is that?" Rain whispered.

"Whatever it is it's causing massive destruction. We are scrambling to get soldiers out there now." an agent in her ear said.

"Negative! Tell whoever gave that order to cancel it! We will lose men if we send them against that thing!" Rain snapped, doubling over to touch her com again.

"We've been trying." the agent assured her.

"Ross! Tell your people to let me loose, I can help." Rain snapped.

Ross eyed her and said, "Let the girl loose."

One of the soldiers sliced the zip ties and the rope around her waist.

"Tell them to bring everything they've got and head to Harlem." Ross said.

"It has to be me." Banner whispered.

"Do you think you can control it?" Betty asked.

"Not control it... Maybe just aim it." Banner told her.

"And if you can't!" Ross demanded.

"We made this thing... All of us.. Please." Banner pleaded, looking at Betty then Ross.

Ross cocked his head and regarded Banner for a minute before saying, "Land us near it."

"No, no. No, keep us high. Open the back door." Banner told them.

Rain cringed when the back door opened and said, "Banner... Be careful. If you fail... That thing will destroy New York."

"Agent Barton... what's happening?" Fury demanded in her ear.

"The Hulk is going to go fight this... Abomination." She said as Banner and Betty said goodbye.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Rain grabbed Betty as the helicopter dropped and shouted, "What the hell?!"

"I gotta put her down!" the pilot shouted.

"Hold on!" Ross bellowed as Rain and Betty hung onto the cargo nets.

"I'm so sorry we dragged you into this!" Betty shouted.

"It was my mission!" Rain shouted back before she hit the floor of the chopper and fell unconcious.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Stop!"

"What...?" Rain groaned.

"Easy girl." a soldier whispered, picking her up and carrying her out of the chopper.

"Oh god." She gasped as she saw the Abomination roll to a stop at Ross's feet.

Betty quietly walked up to the Hulk and whispered, "It's okay."

"Betty." Hulk whispered, gently wiping a tear off her face.

"Agent Barton? Can you hear me?" Fury asked as a bright light flooded the area.

"Yes sir." She whispered.

The Hulk snarled up at the chopper and bounded away, passing within a few feet of Rain before he paused and looked first at her then at Betty.

The chopper landed and Rain could see Fury standing in the doorway.

"Who the blazes is that?" Ross demanded.

"My superior." Rain told him as she walked by him.

"I expect you know something about this?" Fury asked, pulling her aboard the SHIELD chopper.

"Some. I was unconscious for a portion of it." She admitted.

Fury brushed her hair back to reveal a deep cut near her hairline. "Dizzy? Tired? Nauseous?" He asked.

"Mildly. Though I think the nausea maybe from my last helicopter ride." She admitted, easing into a seat.

"Well... Stay awake long enough to get to the DC base and we'll do a full debrief. But in the meantime... We need to talk about the team." Fury told her, opening a first aid kit.


	24. Chapter 25

**_Author: spent some time looking over the extremely detailed MCU timeline on the 'net and decided that we are getting close to the "Big Event" as one of my dear friends calls it, I might as well have Rain guest appear appear along side the First Avenger himself. Kinda long since there's a lot to cover. Taking part of it from the film and part from Alex Irvine's adaptation. Forgive Phil's fanboy induced OCC-ness._**

 **April 15th, 2012**

"Come here you!" Rain laughed, snatching Lila off the ground.

"No! Mommy!" Lila howled as her older sister began to tickle her.

"What are you two up to now?" Laura said, coming downstairs with a clothes basket.

"Torturing me." Lila gasped.

"Tickling you." Rain corrected.

"Nope... torturing." Lila panted, wiggling out of Rain's arms.

 _"He's the Star Spangled Man with a plan! Yes he's the Star Spangled Man with a plan!"_

Laura raised an eyebrow as Rain pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at it. "Hey Phil." Rain giggled before stepping outside.

"Is your ringtone for me still Star Spangled Man?" Phil asked.

"Maybe. And if it was, would you really complain?" Rain smirked.

"Ehh... Probably not. But... guess where I am." Phil told her.

Rain cocked her head curiously.

Phil sounded almost giddy... sort of like the kids did after too much candy on Halloween.

"High as the clouds?" she asked.

On the other end of the line Phil sighed and said, "The Arctic... In the middle of a snow storm."

"Don't even think about asking me to fly out there. I hate snow. Besides... Dad got to go to the Mojave Desert." Rain protested with a pout.

"And Natasha is in Russia I know. Fury wants you to meet us in New York City, at our medical facility there. I'll text you a time when we get back over the U.S." Phil told her.

"Okay... But what does that have to do with why you're in the Arctic?" Rain asked.

"You'll see." Phil smirked before hanging up.

"That was weird." Rain muttered, heading back inside.

"What did Phil want?" Laura asked.

"Fury needs me at the SHIELD medical facility in New York City. Phil's going to text me when once they get back over the US. They're out in the Arctic right now." Rain told her.

"The Arctic? Why..." Laura began.

"I have no idea. Phil sounded as high as the clouds." Rain shrugged.

"That's really weird." Laura sighed.

"Is Uncle Phil coming to visit?" Cooper piped up.

"Not right now. Maybe later." Rain told them.

 **April 16, 2012**

Coulson smiled when the sound of the black motorcycle's engine finally died and the rider stepped off.

"Now that I'm here, what's all the excitement about? You sounded as fucked up as Stark did at his party. And as hyper as the kids after halloween. Who are, by the way, asking when their beloved Uncle Phil is going to come visit." Rain said, unzipping her leather jacket.

Phil smirked and hugged her tightly. Rain was one of his favorite agents and he loved her and her family as if they were his own.

"We found him Rain. He was frozen in the ice, up in the Arctic. And he's still alive. The doctors say the ice kept him cryogenically preserved and the super soldier serum..." He told her.

Rain stepped out of his arms to look at him. "Super soldier serum? We found Captain America?" She asked.

"A Russian oil team found the plane but yeah. He's here. The medical team is giving a last check over now. Come on." Phil told her, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Wow. So he's the real deal?" Rain whispered, staring at the surveillance video from inside the room.

"Yes he is. We tested his blood for both DNA and the Erskine's serum. Both came up a match." Fury said.

"Did Phil faint?" Rain smirked.

Fury scoffed and said, "Not quite. But it was close. He's been unwilling to leave."

"I heard stories about Captain America as a kid in school. Never read any of the comics. But dad took me to the Smithsonian one year when they had an exhibit about him running. He was one hell of a hero. One of the few men I admire and respect that I've never actually meet." Rain smirked.

"That should change soon girl." Fury told her, joining her at the console.

"They say he's gonna wake up soon?" Rain asked.

"Eventually. That's why I had Phil tell you to come. I want you to be here when he wakes up." Fury said.

"Why?" Rain asked.

"He's going to need time to adjust to what the world's become after he wakes up. I also intend for him to lead the Avengers when the time comes. He's going to need someone to help him get back in the world and understand SHIELD. You are young enough to understand the world. And one of my best agents." Fury explained.

Rain ducked her head, blushing a little. Fury didn't give out that kind of praise often. "It'd be an honor sir." She whispered.

"Good girl." He said, squeezing her shoulder.

 **April 17, 2012**

Rain cringed when an alarm went off through her com in her ear.

 _"All agents, Code Thirteen, Code Thirteen!"_

"Son of a bitch! He's awake!" She snapped, rushing back to her motorcycle and pulling her helmet on.

 _"Agent Barton?!"_ Fury shouted.

"I'm en route back. I just got the Code Thirteen!" She shouted back.

 _"The Captain is on the run! Whatever you do, do not use force against him! He'll be afraid and confused."_ Fury commanded.

"Sure thing boss." She said.

 _"He's in Time Square!"_ another agent shouted.

"I see him! He's definitely confused." Rain said, pulling to a stop nearby.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Steve spun to face the figure who has stopped nearby. She was dressed in black pants and a jacket to match.

"Take it easy Captain. I'm one of the good guys." She said, pulling off her helmet and setting it on her motorcycle.

She had short brown hair, bright green eyes and high cheek bones. There was a pair of scars on one cheek but they were faded.

"Who are you?" He asked.

The young woman looked around as big black cars circled them, blocking traffic and soldiers like the kind he had just encountered got out.

"Don't shoot him you bunch of idiots!" the woman told them, glaring at a particularly burly soldier with a cruel smile.

"You don't give the orders bitch." the soldier growled in a deep voice.

Steve opened his mouth to defend the woman but she was already in motion, drawing a stick as long as his forearm from her boot and shoving it's tip against the soldier's side.

"She may not be the highest ranking member here Rumlow. But she is your superior." another voice said behind him as the soldier crumpled to the ground.

Steve turned around to see a bald black man with an eyepatch watching him. He held his head high and carried himself like an officer.

The young woman moved to stand next to the man without Steve even realizing she had moved.

"Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there. But we thought it best to break it to you slowly." the man said.

"Break what?" Steve asked.

"You've been asleep. For almost seventy years." the young woman told him.

He looked around, staring at the buildings... the billboards... the date and time scrolling across the bottom of one: April 17, 2012.

"You gonna be okay?" The man asked.

"Yeah... I just had a date." He whispered.


	25. Chapter 26

**_Author: closer and closer to Avengers. I realized at work the other night that this story is over 2 dozen chapters and it's still in phase one of MCU. Anyways the Retreat is a location that appears in Agents of SHIELD, though I'm fairly sure it's he cabin that they showed Banner in at end of Incredible Hulk._**

Rain stood in one of the corners of the room, watching Fury, Steve and the door.

Coulson had been with her briefly but Fury had made him leave because his ogling had made Steve uncomfortable.

Not that Steve didn't already look uncomfortable enough, seventy years out of time.

"Agent Barton?" Fury asked, swinging his gaze to her.

"Yes sir?" Rain asked, stepping out of the corner and moving to stand next to the table he and Steve were seated at.

"I'd like you to go home, pack a bag and then return here." Fury told her.

"Of course sir.. But why?" She asked.

"You're going to accompany Captain Rogers to the Retreat." He said.

"It's vacant?" She asked.

"Our surveillance shows the last visitor left over six weeks ago and has yet to return." He said.

"What's the Retreat?" Steve asked.

"A safe house. Meant specially for unique individuals." Fury told him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

And that was how Steve came to be at cabin with a lake practically at the front door.

It was a nice place to get away... Even if his housemate had literally been up to her elbows in blood not long ago.

"How do you feel about venison pot roast?" Rain asked, tossing a bag of deer meat in the freezer.

"It's fine. Sounds great actually. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that you actually know how to slice up that deer." He smirked.

Rain laughed and said, "It helps to know the hunters in the area when you want good meat. And yes I know how to slice up a deer. I can also hunt and field dress one too."

Steve's eyebrows shot up and he stared at her in shock.

A SHIELD agent, a fighter and a hunter... color him impressed.

"My father took me hunting a lot shortly after he adopted me. Also taught me how to shoot a gun and a bow." Rain said, drying her hands.

"Are you close to your father?" Steve asked.

"Very. Dad and I both spend a lot of time working so we see each other when we can." She said, dropping the deer into some sort of a device sitting on the counter.

"What's a crock pot?" Steve asked, coming over to read the name on it.

"This is a crock pot. It's also a brand name. They let you stick meat, vegetables and other stuff in them and they slow cook for hours without you needing to be home. They made wonderful pot roast." She said, tapping the device with a knife.

"Would you like help?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

She cocked her head at the sound of a horn honking and muttered, "Come with me."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Miss! I have the supplies you ordered." a man called in French, climbing out of his truck.

"I thought we were alone out here." Steve whispered.

"I went into town before you arrived and gave one of the local grocery stores a list for delivery." Rain hissed before jumping off the porch.

"Fruits, vegetables, baking goods and whatever else your heart desires." the man told her, opening his trunk bed.

"Thank you very much. How much do I owe you for the groceries and the delivery?" Rain asked in his native French as Steve came over.

"It is taken care of. A tall man with dark skin and an eyepatch paid already." he told her.

"Into the house?" Steve asked.

"Yes please." Rain told him.

"Your boyfriend? Husband?" the other man teased.

"Just a friend." Rain smirked.

The man reached into a box and said, "It was not on the list but I thought perhaps it might be enjoyed."

In his hands was a bottle of wine, not terribly expensive but not any of the cheap kind either.

Rain smiled softly and whispered, "Thank you for the thought. But unfortunately it will not be enjoyed here. I do not drink and neither does my companion."

"Such a shame. Forgive me for any offense." He apologized.

"It's forgiven." She assured him, picking up a box as Steve returned to collect a third.

"So you don't drink?" Steve asked as he began putting groceries away.

"Never. My birth parents did a lot... too much in fact." She admitted.

"Is that where...?" He asked, rubbing his cheek where the scars on her's were.

"Yeah. My birth mom. This one too." She muttered, showing him the scar on her forearm for a second.

Steve stared for a moment before dropping his gaze as Rain dumped some cut vegetables into the crockpot.

"It'll be done in about six hours. I'm going to make a video call, think you can amuse yourself for a while?" she asked.

"Sure... Look I'm sorry..." He began.

"You were on ice when my mother did to me what she did. And even if you weren't, odds of you being in the little piece of shit town I was living in at the time were zilch. So don't apologize." She sad sharply.

"Is she in prison?" Steve whispered.

"No... She's dead. Her and her husband both." She told him.


	26. Chapter 27

**_Author: I realized that Clint and Rain haven't interacted much lately so have an adorable video call between daddy and his girl. And Rain is wearing the exact same thing at the end that I've been wearing lately cuz it's been cool here._**

"Barton?!"

Clint blinked awake and peeked out of his nest to stare down at the scientists and agents on the ground floor.

"Whatcha want?" He called, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs.

"Coffee!" Selvig called, holding up a thermos by way of an offer.

Clint made his way down to the stairs, rubbing his eyes and wishing for his soft bed at home.

"Sleeping?" Selvig asked.

"A little bit. Thanks." Clint muttered, taking sip from the thermos and cringing at the bitter taste. "Needs cream and sugar." he added.

Selvig nodded to the corner of a work table before going back to the Tesseract as Clint began to doctor his coffee.

"Anything else Agent Barton?" another scientist asked.

"No. Thanks for the caffeine fix Doc." Clint said, as his phone began to ring.

He bounded up the stairs before settling on a landing to answer.

"I heard you got sent to the Retreat with a real american hero." He smirked, putting his Bluetooth in.

"Yeah I did. He's... strange to be around. Apologies left and right, holding doors open, yes ma'am this and that." Rain sighed, stretching out on a bed at the Retreat.

"What's that place like?" Clint asked.

Rain tapped a button on her phone to turn the video around to show Clint the room. "It's a really nice place. About a half hour drive from any town. A lake at the front door. And woods all around." She told him.

"Nice. Bigger lake than ours?" Clint asked, as Rain reappeared on the screen.

"Yeah a lot bigger. Have you heard from Nat?" Rain asked.

"No... But she's undercover so I doubt she'll call. You really miss her?" Clint whispered, glancing back down at the scientists.

"Of course." Rain told him.

Clint sighed and stretched out on the stairs. "Sweetheart... that is how I feel about your mom. Exactly I've felt about her for years, since I was younger than you and Nat are now."

He whispered.

"How do you deal with it... being away from her so much?" Rain asked.

"You don't get used to as much as you learn how to deal with it. You miss them something awful but you take care of them and make sure they know you love them when you're home." Clint told her.

Rain sighed, curled up and whispered, "Thanks daddy. I think I'm gonna sleep for a bit."

"Sleep well then little bird. Call if you need to. Follow the mission." Clint told her.

"Sure daddy. You too." She sighed before hanging up and setting her phone on the bedside table.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Ma'am?" Steve called softly, tapping on the closed bedroom door.

Rain opened the door and leaned against the frame: looking tousled, sleepy and warm.

"I'm sorry to wake you. But... it's been about six hours. I think the pot roast is ready." He admitted.

"Right. Go through the cabinets. Find two bowls, two big plates and some silverware. I'll be out as soon as I change." She yawned.

"Yes ma'am." Steve whispered, turning away to go into the kitchen.

After he set the table, Steve took the lid off the crockpot and sniffed the pot roast.

"Smells good huh?" Rain asked, startling him.

"Yeah it does." Steve blushed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Here. Fury heard you liked to draw. He had these sent in with the groceries." Rain said, setting a couple of sketch pads and boxes of pencils on the table for him.

Steve touched the sketch pads, glad to see something that hadn't changed since his time.

"Would you mind?" He asked, glancing at her.

"Oh no... I'm a terrible artist." She laughed.

"I meant... would you model?" He clarified.

Rain stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Sure why not. We're stuck here for a while. Might as well. Just don't expect me to change clothes. These are comfy as hell."

Steve looked at the oversized long sleeve hanging off one shoulder, baggy sleep pants and slippers before smiling, "I wouldn't dare."

 ** _Author: also thank you to all my wonderful reviewers and readers. Especially Overlord, who is my girl's biggest fan. Happy thanksgiving all!_**


	27. Chapter 28

**_Author: *breaks down door* I'm so excited to finally be at the Avengers! Before Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron, this was my favorite MCU movie! Alex Irvine's wonderful hard back adaptation is so handy right now! Anyways... On with the show!_**

 **May 1, 2012**

 **Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility**

 **Mojave Desert, USA**

Clint stared down at the Tesseract and the scientists scrambling to figure out what was going on.

Near as he could tell the cube was behaving oddly: turning the power in the lab on, giving off it's own energy and glowing a strange shade of blue.

Nobody knew what was going on and they had known even less four hours ago when the initial energy surge had woken him from a light doze and alerted Selvig, who had gone to eat.

The door to the laboratory opened and Fury walked in, footsteps echoing in the massive room.

It was part of why Clint had chosen his nest so carefully: he could see and hear everything that happened in the room.

"Talk to me, Doctor." Fury said, focusing on Selvig.

The lead scientist glanced at him for a moment before looking back at the equipment in front of him. "Director, the Teaseract is misbehaving." He admitted.

Clint scoffed and muttered, "My kids misbehave. This thing is just fucked up."

Fury glared at Selvig and asked, "Is that supposed to be funny Doctor?"

"No it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's... behaving." Selvig told him.

"I assume you pulled the plug." Fury growled.

"She's an energy source. We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level..." Selvig tried to explain.

"We prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from space." Fury reminded him.

"All because some supposed god, Ren Fair nuts and a fire spitting robot showed up." Clint chuckled.

Even after he had seen what had happened in New Mexico last year, he still didn't quite believe in other worlds, magic and so called gods.

"We're not ready. My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference radiation." Selvig argued.

Fury looked past Selvig at the set that had been built to study the Tesseract, watching the cube glow and arc out a strange blue energy.

Staring at it made Clint's eyes burn and set the hair on the back of his neck on end.

"It's nothing harmful. Low levels of gamma radiation." Selvig assured him.

Clint actually let out a laugh and one of the scientists looked up toward his nest.

Rain had ended up with a mild concussion last year because of the fight between the Hulk and Abomination.

"That can be harmful." Fury hissed, glaring at Selvig.

Selvig fell silent as he turned back to his monitor.

"Where's Agent Barton?" Fury demanded.

"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual." Selvig scoffed, pointing over his shoulder.

Unlike the other SHIELD agents who worked security for the building and the scientists within, Clint didn't socialize. In fact he seldom came down to ground level unless it was necessary.

"Agent Barton, report." Fury commanded in his ear.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was at Nick's side and matched his stride.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury said, guiding them away from Selvig.

Up close Clint was able to confirm what had bothered him when Fury walked in. His old friend was tense, tenser than normal at least and it worried him.

"Well, I see better from a distance." Clint shrugged, looking at him.

"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked, meeting his gaze briefly before nodding to the Tesseract.

"Doctors! It's spiking again." a nearby tech called.

"Nobody's come or gone. Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IMs. If there's any tampering, sir, it's not at this end." Clint admitted.

Fury stared at him and asked, "At this end?"

"Yeah... the cube is a doorway to the other end of space right? Doors open from both side." Clint told him.

Fury watched him for a moment before a blast of energy erupted from the Tesseract.

The ground shook under his feet and Fury knew in his gut that everyone in the complex had felt the blast.

Clint narrowed his eyes at the vortex forming around the Tesseract before it became a beam that shot to the end of the lab and formed a sphere.

"What is that?" a tech whispered.

Clint shook his head and shut his eyes. Staring at the sphere made him nauseous.

"Barton." Fury hissed as a wave of energy rushed over them and Clint's eyes flashed open.

There was a man kneeling on the platform where the sphere of energy had just been.


	28. Chapter 29

**_Author: on a roll! And I find it kinda fun to have my beloved agents have a few different modes: civilian, family and agent. Writing mostly off the movie since it's so much more detailed than the adaptation is. Anyways... Enjoy._**

Clint stared at the man as he stood and grinned.

He wasn't much taller than Fury and was slender, with long black hair and bright green eyes.

 _"Not much to look at... maybe not a threat."_ a little voice in Clint's head whispered.

Years of SHIELD and military training silenced that voice immediately.

 _"The Tesseract is of potential alien origin. This man came through the energy door created by the Tesseract. He is an unknown... he is a threat."_ his inner agent growled.

"Sir. Please put down the spear." Fury commanded as the stranger regarded them.

The man looked at the spear before thrusting it towards them which caused it to shoot a blast.. of something.

Clint moved on instinct, grabbing Fury and shoving him out of the way.

He felt the heat from the blast across his back and cringed when they both went rolling across the floor.

"Clint." Fury hissed.

"I'm alright." He growled as gunfire started to echo through the room.

The gunfire ceased and they both looked up in time to see a tech fly back.

"To me!" Clint commanded the last of the standing agents before pulling out his sidearm.

The Heckler was not one of his favored weapons but it worked well enough.

A blue black mist appeared in front the stranger's face, deflecting the bullets to the floor before he shot off another blast from his spear.

Clint dove to one side while another agent went to the other.

Fury narrowed his eye as the agent who had been directly behind Clint took the blast straight to the chest.

Clint cringed at the sickening crack as another agent hit the support beam and fell to the floor motionless.

 _"Move. Move!"_ his inner agent commanded even though his body was a little less than willing.

 _"Get up old man."_ a second voice, this one sounding a bit like Rain, hissed in his head.

"I'm up... I'm up." Clint groaned, shoving himself to his feet.

Footsteps that he didn't recognize made him move a little bit faster and before he could swing his gun around to fire, the stranger had his arm in an iron grip.

 _"Shit."_ he thought.

The stranger watched him for a moment before whispering, "You have heart."

The spear touched his chest, just hard enough for him to feel the tip pass through the Kevlar and touch his heart, before his entire body went cold.

Fury crouched near the Tesseract watching as Clint's eyes glazed over completely black then turned an eerie crystalline blue.

As soon as Clint holstered his sidearm, Fury put the Tesseract into a metal briefcase with every intent to get it to safety.

"Please don't. I still need that." the stranger said, glancing his way.

"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury growled, doing a mental count of his dead or injured agents... too many.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else." the stranger said, drawing himself up a bit straighter. "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Loki... Asgard... that all sounded vaguely familiar.

"Loki? Brother of Thor?" Selvig whispered, pulling another scientist to her feet.

Thor... supposed Prince of Asgard. Loki was, at least according to a file that had passed across his desk, Thor's younger brother.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury said, noting that Clint was looking around the room.

Loki smirked at Selvig then told Fury, "An ant had no quarrel with a boot."

"Are you planning to step on us?" Fury scoffed.

His best agent was compromised and more were dead or severely injured... this was not going to end well.

"I come with glad tidings. Of a world made free." Loki smirked.

"Free from what?" Fury demanded.

"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that in your..." Loki told him, pausing to touch the tip of his scepter to Selvig's chest. Selvig's eyes glazed over black then turned crystalline blue... exactly like Clint's. "You will know peace."

Fury took a half step back, not willing to let Loki or that scepter near him. "You say peace. But I kinda think you mean the other thing." He growled.

Clint stepped up to Loki, glared at Fury and said, "Sir. Director Fury is stalling. This is place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

Even being brain washed, Clint was still dangerously smart which Fury never thought he'd hate about the man... until now.

Loki turned to Fury, who shrugged and said, "Like the pharaohs of old."

"He's right! The portal is collapsing in on itself! We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig called, working at one of the monitors.

"Well then." Loki said, looking at Clint.

Fury didn't make a sound when the bullet hit him in the chest or when he hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind from him.

Loki gathered Selvig and the other agent he had turned before the agent led them from the lab.

Clint trailed behind, snatching up the briefcase with the Tesseract in it.

Fury lay there staring at the ceiling and realized that Clint was still in there... somewhere.

Clint was a professional assassin... basic instinct would have made him take a head shot to guarantee a kill.

But Fury knew Clint well enough to know two things: he didn't miss and he always took a kill shot unless he had a damn good reason not to.


	29. Chapter 30

**_Author: it's so weird how scenes that are only a few minutes long in a movie can take forever to write up. Thank good for the novel adaptation. Now then *pulls up MCU timeline*_**

Maria paused when Hawkeye escorted Selvig, a strange man with a scepter and a liaison officer out of the lab.

"Who's that?" She called.

"They didn't tell me." Hawkeye said.

The stranger climbed into a back of an armored vehicle as she watched them all carefully.

Even though she technically outranked him, Hawkeye had seniority over her with at least two decades in SHIELD under his belt... so she was supposed to trust him but something felt off.

"Hill! Barton has turned!"

Hawkeye turned and shot at her, forcing her to dive for cover.

She cringed when bullets ricocheted off the support beam and heard the sound of tires squealing.

The bullets stopped as Hawkeye's footsteps retreated.. then the sound of a second engine and more tires squealing.

"They've got the Tesseract! Shut them down!" Fury commanded over her radio.

Maria jumped into a jeep, flooring it as other SHIELD vehicles fell in behind her.

They were underground on an access road that led up to the surface of the desert.

 _"Aww c'mon. You know I rather be in an abandoned building in the city somewhere working an assassination over being stuck underground."_ Clint's voice piped up in her head.

She had been there when Fury had given him the mission to keep an eye on Selvig and the Tesseract.

Hawkeye had whined a little about it, jokingly of course because that was just part of who he was, but accepted the mission without a real complaint.

"Sorry Hawk." She whispered, shooting at the vehicle her fellow agent was in.

She couldn't get a clear shot of the stranger... Not now at least.

As soon as she could see the stranger, he narrowed his eyes and aimed his scepter. The tip flared bright blue and a bolt of energy hit the vehicle in front of her.

"Shit!" She yelped as the vehicle flipped, rolled and landed sideways across the road.

Somebody yelled something from one of the vehicles behind her as she took a breathe to calm down.

"Divider... another access road... Let's try that." She whispered, bouncing her jeep over the divider and standing on the gas.

The walkie-talkie beside her was an on-going stream of voices which told her the energy field meant to contain the Tesseract was about to overload.

"We're clear upstairs, sir. We need to go." Coulson said.

Had Fury gotten out the lab? No time to find out.

She shot out in front of Hawkeye's car and spun her jeep around so she was going backwards right in front of him.

Under different circumstances, she would have laughed at the surprise on his face.

Their windshields shattered as she shot at him. She didn't want to kill him, just slow him down or hurt him so she could capture him.

Hawkeye fired back, making her duck to avoid being hit.

She cringed when his vehicle slammed into her's and forced her out of the way.

"Damn it! I hate that bastard!" She growled, slamming the jeep back into gear and taking off after him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The hair on the back of Maria's neck rose when the air around her became oddly still.

She glanced in front of her at Hawkeye's vehicle, seeing him cock his head a little before a blue wave rushed over them.

More voices on her walkie-talkie told her other agents had been felt or seen the blue wave as well.

The ceiling above her shook and there was a terrifying roar of something massive collapsing.

She knew the sound well... she remembered hearing it from her loft as the South and North Towers had collapsed when she was nineteen.

"Breathe... breathe..." She whispered as the road buckled beneath her.

Hawkeye was ahead of the wave of destruction but she was caught in it, watching debris rain down on the road.

She was close to the edge of the base but she had no idea how much of it was of it would collapse.

All she knew was that she wanted out and not to be buried.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Hawkeye... the stranger... the Tesseract were all gone.

"Damn it." Maria whispered, leaning against the wheel.

With all the debris raining down, she had lost sight of Hawkeye and had barely made it to the edge of the base.

"Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" Coulson asked.

"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?"

Fury sounded winded and possibly in pain.

"A lot of men still under. I don't know how many survivors." She admitted.

"Sound a general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase." Fury commanded.

"Roger that." She whispered, looking at the debris behind her.

"Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war." Fury said.

Level Seven... SHIELD's highest alert status.

"What do we do?" Coulson asked.

Fury didn't respond for a moment but when he did, she and Coulson both knew what his response would be: "Activate the Initiative."


	30. Chapter 31

**_Author: *happy dance* love where we are right now. Quick translations: Da is Yes and Bozhe Moi is roughly Oh My God. Both are of course Russian._**

Natasha twisted her wrists, testing the handcuffs securing her hands behind the chair.

They were tight enough to not allow her to move... much.

The man she had been sent to spy on slapped her across the face hard enough to turn her head.

Georgi Luchkov... a colonel general in the Russian Army who also sold weapons on the side.

"This isn't how I wanted this evening to go." He told her, eyeing the black dress she had chosen for the night.

It was simple and revealed just enough to turn heads but not enough to be slutty.

The thirty foot drop behind her was supposed to be intimidating... it was meant to remind her that she could easily be killed.

But she wasn't afraid of the drop or the general and his goons.

"I know how you wanted this evening to end. Trust me, this is better." She answered in Russian.

"Who are you working for? Lermontov? Does he think we need to go through him to move goods?" Luchkov asked.

One of the goons leaned the chair back over the drop, just enough for her feet to not brush the floor and she gasped.

"I... I thought General Solohob was in charge of the export business." She admitted, looking nervous.

The general looked at her then laughed.

"Solohob? A bagman, a front. Your outdated information betrays you. The famous Black Widow and she turned out to be simply another pretty face." He said, cupping her face in his hand roughly.

Natasha pulled her head away and pouted, "You really think I'm pretty?"

Suddenly she wished to be at home with Rain, Laura and the kids where she didn't have to be the Black Widow.

Luchkov smirked and went over to a table covered with tools.

Natasha knew what those were for and she had not intentions of allowing him near her with them.

"Tell Lermontov we don't need him to move the tanks. Tell him he is out. Well..." He picked up one of the instruments, smirked and added in English: "You may have to write it down."

A phone, her phone to be specific, rang from inside one of the goons pockets.

"Da?" he answered then after a moment, handed it to Luchkov. "It's for you." the goon said in English.

"You listen carefully." the general began before he was cut off.

Natasha's Red Room training had left her senses a little bit keener than most people's and she smirked when she heard Coulson's voice.

"You're at 1-14 Silensky Plaza, third floor. We have an F-22 exactly eight miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby." Coulson said, getting straight to the point.

Natasha almost laughed when the cockiness disappeared from the general's face only to have surprise and fear replace it.

Slowly the general set the phone on her shoulder and she pressed her ear to the phone.

"We need you to come in." Coulson told her.

"Are you kidding? I'm working." She scoffed.

"This takes precedence." He said.

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything." She told him, rolling her eyes.

Luchkov looked confused and said, "I not... giving everything." Both the goons shrugged as she pinned the general with a glare.

"Look, you can't pulled me out of this right now." She argued.

"Natasha... Barton's been compromised." Coulson sighed.

A chill ran down her spine and fear formed a knot low in her stomach. _"Not Clint."_ She thought, worrying about Rain, Laura and the kids.

Laura wouldn't tell the kids anything until they knew anything for sure though she would worry.

But Rain... Rain would go on a warpath to find her father.

"Let me put you on hold." She said, fighting to keep her face calm.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Natasha snatched up her phone and heels.

"Where's Barton now?" She demanded.

"We don't know." Coulson admitted.

"But he's alive." She said, struggling to keep it a statement and not a question.

"We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first you need to talk to the big guy."

"Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me." She laughed.

"Oh I've got Stark. You've got the big guy." Coulson told her.

"Bozhe moi." She said.


	31. Chapter 32

**_Author: gathering the team. Promise that we'll soon see what Rain's up to._**

 _Another language_

 **May 2, 2012**

 **Calcutta, India**

 _"There is sickness here! Go! Go!"_

 _"Please I need a doctor!"_

Bruce glanced over his shoulder and saw the mother of the children he was treating trying to shoo a little girl away.

"You're a doctor?" the girl asked first on English then in Hindi. _"My father's sick and he's not waking up! He has a fever and he's moaning! But his eyes won't open."_

Bruce crouched down and whispered, " _Slow down."_

He was good with languages, one good thing about traveling so much.

 _"My father."_ the girl begged.

 _"Like them?"_ He asked, pointing at the sick children in their bed.

The girl stared at him and held out a bit of money, probably all her family had and whimpered, "Please."

He sighed. He had always had a soft spot for people in need, especially children.

 _"My children."_ the mother protested as he grabbed his jacket.

 _"I will come back. Keep the blankets over them and make sure they drink. I will come back."_ Bruce told her.

The little girl led him to another house and he ducked into the shadows as a jeep full of soldiers drove by.

They weren't US military but he wasn't willing to take the risk of being caught.

The little girl rushed inside the house then disappeared through a window that led back outside.

Bruce paused, looking around. The house was abandoned and looked like it had been for some time.

"Should have gotten paid up front Banner." He said, shaking his head.

An attractive young woman stepped out of the shadows and said, "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked quite a place to settle."

She didn't look ready for a fight, wearing a black dress with a shawl and no visible weapons.

Bruce eyed her, not sure what she wanted but assumed it wasn't good. After all, she wouldn't have convinced a little girl to bring out to the edge of town otherwise.

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret." He said.

"Then what is? Yoga?" She asked with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I assume the whole place is surrounded?" He said.

"Just you and me." She told him.

"And your actress buddy? Is she a spy too? They start that young?" He asked, nodding to the window the girl had disappeared out of.

The young woman looked him dead in the eye and said, "I did."

He glanced at her and could tell she wasn't lieing... about that at least.

"And who are you?" He asked.

"Natasha Romanoff." She told him.

"Are you here to kill me Miss Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone." Bruce asked, eyeing her.

"No, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD." She said.

"SHIELD." He sighed, remembering his last run-in with them. "How did they find me?" He asked her.

"We never lost you Doctor. We just kept our distance. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent." She told him.

That explained why he hadn't seen much of Ross since the fight with the Abomination.

"Why?" He wondered.

"Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in." She said.

"What if I say no?" He asked, glancing at her.

"I'll persuade you." She smirked.

"And what if the other guy says no?" He muttered.

"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want to break that streak." Natasha reminded him.

Banner gently pushed an old wooden bassinet and bitterly said, "Well.. I don't get what I want every time."

"Doctor we're facing a potential global catastrophe." Natasha told him.

"Well those I actively try to avoid." He chuckled.

Natasha pulled up an image of the Tesseract on her phone and put it on the table. "This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet." She told him.

Banner glanced down and scoffed, "What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"

"He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do." She told him.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at her. Gamma radiation had destroyed his life and taken everything from him... and now SHIELD wanted to exploit how much he knew about it?

"If there was, that's where I'd be." She added.

"So Fury isn't after the monster." Bruce said.

"Not that he's told me." She admitted."

"And he tells you everything?" He scoffed.

"Talk to Fury. He needs you on this." She told him.

"He's going to put me in a cage?" He asked.

"No ones going to put you in a..."

"Stop lying to me!" Bruce roared, slamming his hands down the table.

Natasha reacted before he could blink: moving across the room and aiming a gun at him.

Bruce felt a bit bad when he saw how terrified she was. The last SHIELD agent he had met hadn't seemed afraid of him but agents didn't scare easy.

"I'm sorry. That was mean." He chuckled, keeping an eye on the gun in case she actually pulled the trigger.

"Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that and the other guy doesn't make a mess. Okay? Natasha?" He smirked.

Natasha lowered the gun slowly and whispered into the earpiece hidden by her hair, "Stand down. We're good here."

Bruce smirked at the sound of guns being unlocked and chuckled, "Just you and me."

He wasn't stupid and now she knew it.


	32. Chapter 33

**_Author: It's been a long day at work so far and I'm starting to feel like shit. Not to mention my depression has kicked in some... Fun right?_**

Steve stared the punching bag as it skidded to a stop and sat there pouring sand.

He hadn't gotten a decent night sleeping in weeks, not since he had woken up after seventy years and found himself a stranger in the city he loved.

Most of the Commandos were dead... if not all.

Howard Stark and his wife had been killed in a car accident.

Bucky... he had lost Bucky before he went under the ice.

Peggy... his Peggy was gone. The woman who called herself Peggy Carter was a very old woman who might not remember him anymore.

Sighing, he grabbed another bag to hang so he could continue to hit something until the rage subsided.

He had formed the habit out at the Retreat where he had stayed two weeks with Agent Rain Barton.

She had gotten as little sleep as he did the first few nights he had attempted to sleep, waking up when he began screaming in his sleep.

Her methods had not been gentle: punching him hard in the face or shoving the end of her electrified Escrima Stick against his side.

The sharp constant pain would bring him out of the nightmares enough to wake up.

Rain would always been an arm length away, nursing her hand or keeping her Escrima Stick pointed at him... at least until she knew he was awake enough to not attack her.

When he refused to sleep, she sent him out into the woods to work off the rage.

He had come back with several broken knuckles, a multitude of splinters and a stack of firewood.

She had laughed, called him an idiot and told him to take an ax next time.

Having her around had been helpful but Coulson had called her with a mission so they had gone their separate ways.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Fury... the sneaky bastard.

"I've slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill." Steve said.

"Then you should be out celebrating. Seeing the world." Fury suggested.

The world was a scary and unfamiliar place now... why would he want to see it?

"When I went under, the world was at war. When I woke up, they say we won but they didn't say what we had lost." Steve muttered, peeling the workout tape from his hands.

Fury nodded, recognizing the conversation as one they had on a few occasions before. "We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently." He admitted.

"You here with a mission? Sir?" Steve asked.

"I am." Fury agreed.

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve muttered.

"Trying to save it." Fury corrected him, passing him a mission dossier.

There on the first page was a picture of the cube that had sucked the Red Skull into a hole in space labeled: Tesseract. "Hydra's secret weapon." Steve said.

"Howard Stark fished it out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think: that the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

Fury explained.

"Who took it from?" Steve asked, closing the dossier. He was getting a briefing from Fury and didn't need the paperwork.

"He's call Loki. He's... not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on, if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Fury told him.

"At this point I doubt anything would surprise me." Steve shrugged.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing packet waiting for you back at your apartment." Fury smirked.

Steve hoisted a punching bag onto his shoulder to take home and keep the nightmares away.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we don't already know?" Fury called after him.

The cube had the power to tear a hole in space and pull someone through it. It was dangerous. "You should have left it in the ocean." Steve muttered.

He couldn't... wouldn't bail on the mission. He knew how dangerous the cube was, especially in the wrong hands. Despite his personal troubles, if the world needed Captain America, he would be there.

Fury watched Steve go and once he was gone, pulled his phone out and dialed Rain.

He had told Coulson that he would call her himself because she deserved to hear it from him.

She wouldn't take the news well but she also wouldn't refuse the command to come in.

Her father was compromised and he needed another agent he could trust at his side.


	33. Chapter 34

**_Author: Why does Rumlow have to grow on me!? I swear I like him a little bit more every single time I watch Winter Soldier. Anyways: who remembers Yuki because she's back!_**

 **May 2, 2012**

 **Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

Rain could be an intimidating presence when she wanted to but at other times she could get lost in a crowd.

And as much as she hated it, that's exactly what she had been having to do recently.

She had spent a week in Brazil, hiding in the crowds and listening to the chatter of the city during the day and spending half her nights in some of the local clubs.

Getting painted up to look like a druggie looking for a fix wasn't hard and according to Rumlow, she wore it well.

She had thrown a knife at his head when he had said it, barely missing and leaving the knife buried in the wall with Rumlow's blood dripping off it as a warning.

Yuki still had yet to remove the knife which made Rain smirk and made Rumlow uneasy around her.

"Long night?"

Rain blinked sleepily and glanced over at Rumlow, who held a cup of coffee in hand.

She eyed the coffee before glancing at Rumlow again.

"Peace offering." He told her.

"Yuki put you up to this? Or someone else?" She asked.

"No." He scoffed.

She took the coffee and sniffed it before taking a sip. It burned her tongue and throat but the caffeine made her nerves tingle.

"I'm surprised you drank any of that. I thought for sure he had poisoned it." Yuki said, leaning in the doorway.

They were holed up in a small abandoned shack in the slums of Rio, tracking a drug lord who was intentionally selling bad batches of a drug that made people go temporarily insane before their hearts exploded.

Yuki was holding down the tech end of things, running surveillance on their target and his known associates.

Rumlow was the muscle and sniper, bidding his time until they had enough information to eliminate the drug lord.

"Target still keeping his routine?" Rain asked, nodding to the laptops.

"Yes. Tonight should be a perfect night to put him down." Yuki told her.

"The bastard is gonna put a new batch out on the street first thing tomorrow afternoon. We've got to eliminate him tonight." Rain said.

Rumlow nodded as a phone rang in the room. "Your's. Fury." he whispered, handing Rain her cell.

"Yes sir?" Rain asked, sitting on the bed.

"I need you to come in." Fury told her.

"Rumlow's going to be moving on the target tonight. By morning the drugs will ashes and the drug ring will be in pieces." Rain said.

"Your father's been compromised. I'm activating the Avengers Initative." Fury sighed.

"Comprised? How?" Rain whispered.

Yuki crouched down in front of her and gently squeezed her hand.

"The Tesseract has been stolen by an alien force. Your father, another agent and one of our consulting scientists have been kidnapped and brainwashed." Fury said.

"Is he alive? Do we know where he is? Is my father okay?" Rain whispered.

"We assume that as of now he's alive. But we don't know his location or current status." Fury admitted.

Rain leaned her forehead against Yuki's shoulder and whispered, "Give me a second boss."

"Of course." Fury sighed.

Yuki stroked Rain's hair and whispered, "What's happened?"

"Dad's compromised. We don't know where he is or if he's alive. But Fury wants me to come in." Rain whispered.

"He's your father. You must go help find him." Yuki told her.

"This mission..." Rain began.

"We'll finish the mission. By dawn the target will dead." Rumlow told her.

Rain nodded and put the phone to her ear. "I can be ready for extraction in an hour. Yuki and Rumlow can finish the mission." She whispered.

"I'll have a plane for you in four hours. I'll send you the coordinates." Fury told her.

"Yes sir." Rain sighed, hanging up.

Rumlow and Yuki glanced at each other before Rumlow snatched Rain's bag up and set it at her feet.

"Go find the bastard who took your dad. And give him hell." he told her.

"Finally grew a pair and decided to stop being an asshole?" Rain scoffed.

Rumlow raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head.

"Get outta here girl." He said, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his shirt and stepping outside.

"He's a strange one." Yuki whispered in Japanese.

"Yes he is. I still don't trust him though. And he's not stupid enough to poison me or hurt me. I'm one of the boss's war dogs. He tries to hurt me and the entire pack will come down on him and tear him to pieces." Rain scoffed in her friend's native tongue.

"I would like to be there when the pack does." Yuki smirked.

Rain smiled and pulled her weapons from under the bed: collapsible bow, quiver of arrows, handguns, throwing knives and a hunting knife.

"You are your father's daughter." Yuki said in English, shaking her head.

Rain's phone buzzed with the coordinates of a private airfield outside the city.


	34. Chapter 35

**_Author: I just realized that this one maybe should have come before the chapter with Rain. But I think it'll work out. Maybe look for this chapter and the previous one to trade places._**

 **May 2, 2012**

 **New York City**

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being over ridden." Jarvis said.

Tony rolled his eyes as he and Pepper sat down. The Tower was lit, he and Pepper had a night alone and now SHIELD wanted to bother him.

"Mr. Stark. We need to talk."

Tony wasn't SHIELD's biggest fan, not since they had sent an agent undercover as his new personal assistant to babysit him.

And Coulson had threatened to taser him and leave him drooling on the floor while the agent watched Super Nanny.

"You've reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message." He said as Pepper smiled.

"This is urgent."

"Then leave it urgently."

The elevator door open and Coulson glared at him as he hung up his phone.

"Security breach, it's on you." Tony told Pepper, who rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Stark." Coulson grumbled.

"Phil! Come in!" Pepper smiled.

"I can't stay." He admitted.

"Phil? Umm... his first name is Agent." Tony protested.

"Come on in. We're celebrating." Pepper said, ushering "Phil" into their living room.

"Which is why he can't stay." Tony hissed, wanting the agent out of his Tower as soon as possible.

Coulson held out a letter bound folder and said, "We need you to look this over as soon as possible."

"I don't like to be handed things." He said, staring at the folder.

"That's fine because I love to be handed things." Pepper said. Before Tony realized it, the folder was in his hands while both Coulson and Pepper had champagne in their's.

He loved Pepper but sometimes her ability to make him work...

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday." Tony told Coulson, wanting to really tell him to go away.

"This isn't a consultation." Coulson said with a slight shake of his head.

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asked.

Coulson gave her a look that said she wasn't supposed to know about it and she added, "Which I know nothing about."

Tony told Pepper everything and he didn't particularly care if he wasn't supposed to or not.

"I thought the Avengers Initiative was scrapped. And I didn't even qualify."

Tony told him.

"I didn't know that either." Pepper said.

"Yeah. According to your agent girl, I'm volatile, self obsessed, don't play well with others..." He continued.

"That I did know." Pepper admitted.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Coulson said, glaring at Stark.

"Ms. Potts, got a second?" Tony hissed, becoming more and more irritated with the agent.

"You know I thought we were having a moment." He muttered when Pepper joined him.

"I was having twelve percent of a moment." She shot back.

He uploaded the files Coulson brought to his desktop, resisting the urge to glare at her.

"This seems pretty serious. Phil's shaken up." Pepper continued.

"Why is he "Phil"?" He snarled.

She ignored his jealousy as the images and files began to stack up on his virtual desktop and whispered, "What is all this?"

As Tony flicked his wrist, the files appeared in the air above the desktop.

He was suddenly glad for the holographic workstation that he could spawn from any surface as he stared at the dozens of texts dossiers, images and video files,

Not even he could take this all in right away.

"I'm going to DC tonight." Pepper said, having to present some of SI's new energy initiatives to some sort of congressional committee in the morning.

"Tommarow." Tony argued. They still owed each other a celebration.

"You have homework... a lot of homework." Pepper told him, staring at the display.

"What if I didn't?" Tony smirked.

"If you didn't. You mean when you've finished?" She asked.

He smirked as she whispered something in his ear that he would never, ever repeat to anyone else.

"Done deal. Fly safe." He said, kissing her.

"Any chance you're driving by the airport?" Pepper asked Coulson, dancing away to grab her heels.

"I can drop you." he assured her.

Tony tuned them out, catching something about a cellist in Portland, as he got to work.

He was still mentally cursing Coulson for ruining his celebration.


	35. Chapter 36

**_Author: Damn Frank Grillo for being such a hot and amazing asshole in some roles. I apologize for nothing because I didn't plan for the ending to happen the way it did. Taking place while Coulson "recruits" Tony and Rain is flying back to the states._**

 **May 2, 2012**

 **Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

Yuki hauled herself into an open window and landed on a bed, which squeaked loudly under her weight.

"What the hell you doing while I'm not there girl?" Rumlow chuckled over the coms when he heard the spring squeaking.

"Nothing that concerns you." She smirked, sliding off the bed.

Rumlow smirked and shook his head as he sighted through his sniper scope. He was not as good of a shot as either of the Bartons but he got the job done.

"Where's the target?" He asked.

"According to the live feed, in the courtyard. Looks like a meeting. I can not get an audio bug close but I think the people he's with are dealers." Yuki told him.

"Which courtyard? I got eyes on two." Rumlow asked.

"West." Yuki told him.

Rumlow flicked on the night vision and eyed the courtyard. "I got ten heads... eleven including the target. Confirm?" He said.

Yuki did a head count on the live feed and whispered, "Eleven heads counting target confirmed."

"If you're gonna move in close, now's the time to do it. I'll keep eyes on the yard." Rumlow whispered.

"What about security?" Yuki whispered, sticking her head out a window.

"Security's down. Won't be getting up anytime soon." He assured her, nudging the dead gang banger beside him with his foot.

"Alright... moving in." Yuki muttered, climbing out the window and slipping onto the drug lords property.

Rumlow swung his gaze towards where Yuki entered the property, watching her briefly before returning his attention to the courtyard.

The target was still talking with ten dealers, some of them big and burly while the rest were wirey and feral looking.

"Watch your ass girl. One of the burly bastards is about five feet from where you're gonna break into the courtyard." He whispered.

Yuki paused, holding her breathe as she peeked out from where she was hiding.

"Careful." Rumlow warned.

Yuki moved directly behind the closest dealer and slid her knife into his back, between his ribs and into his heart.

"Now." She hissed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Is that all of them?" Yuki whispered when the last one fell.

"Looks like. Let's get out of here. Some upstanding citizen might call the authorities." Rumlow told her.

"I doubt it. But... I will meet you at the rendezvous point." Yuki sighed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Rumlow was stretched out on the couch when Yuki got back.

"Trouble?" He asked.

"No. You?" she muttered.

He shook his head and closed his eyes, draping an arm over his face.

Something cold touched his wrist after a minute and he glanced up.

"Drink?" Yuki asked, nodding to the water bottle in her hand.

Rumlow took a drink and sat up as Yuki sat next to him on the couch.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I understand why we do what we do. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it." She admitted.

"Come here." He whispered, pulling off his bullet proof vest and weapons.

Yuki hesitated before she slid into his lap, leaning against his chest.

Slowly he wrapped an arm around her waist and rested his nose in her hair.

"I always thought you were an asshole." She whispered, glancing up at him.

He smirked and whispered, "Lots of people do girl."

"We should call Rain and tell her mission is done." Yuki said after a moment.

"Probably should." Rumlow agreed.

Yuki slid her phone from her jacket and dialed Rain.

 _"This is Rain. If you've got my voicemail..."_

"Straight to voicemail. She's probably still traveling." Yuki sighed.


	36. Chapter 37

**_Author: I'm gonna be skipping some small scenes in the movie, like Coulson and Steve together on the quinjet. Anyways: on with the story._**

 **May 3, 2012**

 **Off the East Coast of the US**

 **Exact Location: Classified**

Natasha looked up when Coulson stepped out of the Quinjet with a man whose face she recognized from Coulson's vintage cards and comics.

"Stow the captain's gear." Coulson told one of the crew members.

She made her steps intentionally loud to attract Coulson's attention and he gave her a slight smile when she approached.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers." Phil said by way of introduction.

She almost laughed at how adorable Phil was acting.

"Ma'am." Steve said politely.

"Hi." she said, glancing at Steve before returning her attention to Phil, "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face trace."

"See you there." he said, though she saw the question in his eyes easily: _"Is Rain here yet?"_

She shook her head slightly before joining Steve.

Coulson left and Natasha guided Steve across the flight deck. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" She told him.

"Trading cards?" Steve asked.

"They're vintage. He's very proud." She smirked.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Dr. Banner!"

Bruce twitched, turning his attention from the fighter jet to see Natasha Romanoff and Captain America standing nearby.

"Yeah... hi. They told me you'd be coming." He said, shaking the captain's hand.

"Word is you can find the cube." Cap said.

"Is that the only word on me?" Banner asked gingerly.

"The only word I care about." Cap assured him.

Banner gave him a slow nod of thanks before falling into step with him. It was rare to find someone who didn't care about the Hulk.

"It must be strange for you... all of this." Bruce said, nodding to the going's on of the flight deck.

"This is actually kind of familiar." Cap admitted.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe." Natasha called from behind them.

She content to let Banner and Captain Rogers waunder the flight deck as long as they were cautious.

"Flight crew, secure the deck." a voice said over the ship's speakers.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked to which Natasha just smirked.

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?" Bruce chuckled as he and Rogers peeked over the edge of the flight deck.

Steve whistled as he watched massive turbines churn the ocean into froth and realized that the Helicarrier was going up not down.

"Oh no! This is much worse!" Banner laughed.

Steve laughed with him, mostly out of amazement.

"Welcome aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier. Now if you'll come with me?" Natasha said, glancing at the Quinjets.

She was hoping to see Rain hop out of one, ready to raise hell to find her father.

She was also hoping that someone would find Clint soon so her beloved didn't have to.


	37. Chapter 38

**_Author: I actually don't speak Russian so forgive m if my spelling or translation is wrong. Milaya roughly is My Love. Corrections welcome. Might be last chapter before Xmas, so happy holidays!_**

 _Russian_

Fury watched Natasha led Banner and Captain Roger into the bridge before glancing at Hill.

"We're at level, sir." She told him.

"Good. Let's vanish Agent Hill." He said.

"Engage retro-reflection panels." Hill commanded.

Fury smirked when he saw Steve glance at the monitors to see that yes, they were in fact invisible.

At least to most radar, satellites and thermal feeds.

"Sir. There's a Quinjet, call sign Omega-17, requesting permission to land when we hit twenty-four thousand feet." one of the crew called.

"Flight manifest?" He asked.

"Agent Barton and her gear sir."

"Permission granted. Have her escorted to the bridge as soon as they land." Fury said, leaving his station.

Steve and Banner both cocked their heads.

Barton was a name they were both familiar with.

"Gentlemen." Fury said as he went to mingle amongst the gathered group.

Steve pulled ten dollars from his wallet and handed it to him.

Clearly Fury had won their bet.

"Sir." Natasha whispered, crouching down to examine one of the crew's screens. Glancing back briefly he saw Hawkeye's profile pulled up on it.

"Doctor thank for coming." Fury said, shaking hands with Banner.

Behind him, a crew member called out their altitude and another gave the Quinjet clearance to land.

"Thanks for asking nicely. So how long am I staying?" Bruce asked.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind." Fury assured him.

"So where are you with that?" Bruce inquired.

Fury glanced at Coulson, who looked at Banner and said, "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops... if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not going to find them in time." Natasha said.

"I would agree. But nobody has told me much of what's going on yet."

Several heads turned to see Rain join them on the bridge with a duffle bag in hand.

 _"Milaya."_ Natasha whispered, getting up to greet her.

"I've missed you." Rain smiled, setting her bag down to hug Nat.

"You look exhausted." Nat told her.

Rain shrugged and kissed her, not caring that they had an audience.

Steve's eyebrows shot up and he blushed a dark shade of pink. The world has changed more than he realized... a lot more.

Bruce cast his eyes away and glanced up at Fury, who was paying very little attention to the two women.

"You have to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" the scientist asked.

"How many are there?" Fury inquired. No matter the number, SHIELD could get access to all of them.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a basic tracking algorithm. At least we can rule out a few places that way. You have somewhere for me to work?" Bruce said.

"Agent Romanoff. Show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?" Fury called.

Natasha sighed and whispered, _"Duty calls. Get some sleep Milaya."_

Rain stepped aside as Nat motioned for Banner to join her. "You're going to love it Doc. We've got all the toys." She told him.

Banner gave Rain a small smile as he followed the red head off the bridge.

"Agent Coulson, take Agent Barton and de-brief her on her last mission. And brief her on the current situation." Fury told him.

"Yes sir." Coulson said, picking up Rain's duffle bag and leading her away.

"So what's the story? Is my father alright?" Rain asked.

"We're not sure. I'll explain everything soon." Coulson assured her.

"Yuki tried to call me several times then just ended up sending a message through one of our secure emails. She and Rumlow finished the mission. The target is eliminated and so are all his underlings." Rain told him.

"Good." Coulson said.


	38. Chapter 39

**_Author: Hope everyone had a good holiday. Spent mine with family, the gals of RWBY and the Winchester boys. Adorableness from Coulson and some cuteness between Nat and Rain._**

Steve glanced over as Coulson joined him.

"How's Agent Rain?" He asked.

"Sleeping. We had one of the doctors sedate her." Coulson said.

"Sleeping problems?" Steve inquired.

"Insomnia." Coulson admitted.

"I didn't notice at the Retreat." Steve muttered.

"She's very good at hiding it. I didn't know for a few years." Coulson smirked.

Steve nodded and glanced around at the agents working on deck. "How long has she been an agent?" He asked.

"She joined as a trainee in 2005 and made full agent by early 2006. She's a bit of prodigy." Coulson chuckled.

"She seems young." Steve commented.

Coulson made a noncommittal noise. Rain's young age and lack of previous training was a sore spot with some of the agents.

Steve read the sound for what it was and let the subject drop.

"Agent Romanoff mentioned they made trading cards." he said after a minute.

Coulson turned a light shade of red and suddenly became very interested in the sky. "I... collected them. As a kid I was a fan. And still am." he admitted.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Agent Romanoff. What can I do for you?"

Natasha looked past the doctor and whispered, "I'm here to sit with her."

"Of course. Agent Coulson said you might be stopping by." the doctor said gently.

Natasha nodded and sat down in the chair beside the bed where Rain was sleeping.

"You look so peaceful Milaya." she whispered, stroking Rain's hair out of her face.

"Don't wake her please. Coulson said she needs the rest." the doctor called softly.

Natasha didn't answer the doctor but instead kissed Rain's cheek before settling back in the chair.

The only time she ever watched Rain sleep at home without crawling into bed with her was when her beloved was sick.

That happened very rarely and it was even more rare that she herself came down with something.

"We'll find your father Milaya. And you can have your revenge on whoever took him." She swore softly.

Clint and Rain were two of a small amount of people who made her feel like Krasnaya Komnata was actually in her past and not just lurking in the shadows of her mind.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"I mean.. if it's not too much trouble." Coulson said, glancing up Steve. It had taken him a full day to get up the courage to ask his idol to sign his collection of trading cards.

When Rain found out later, she'd give him hell over taking so long.

"No... it's fine." Steve assured him, glancing around at the bridge. He enjoyed knowing how the flight crew operated.. it might come in handy someday.

"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint. Some slight foxing around the edges, but..." Coulson rambled.

"We got a hit!" Jasper Sitwell shouted.

Fury had put him in charge of the search for gamma radiation, based off the search procedures Banner had designed.

"Sixty seven percent match. Wait... cross match... seventy nine percent." Jasper told them.

Steve was impressed at how decisive the results were. Either this Loki character was there or someone else had the Tesseract there.

"Location?" Coulson asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Königstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." Sitwell told him.

Steve looked at the map that appeared on a nearby monitor. It was a museum of some sort in a large open plaza.

He narrowed his eyes at the number of civilians that could get caught in the crossfire.

The mission would be tricky... but they had to bring this guy in.

"Captain. You're up." Fury told him, glancing at Coulson, who nodded.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Natasha fished her phone out of her jacket and flipped it open. "Romanoff." She whispered.

"We've got a match on the Tesseract." Coulson told her.

"Location?" She asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. We're sending Captain Rogers on. Fury wants you there." He said.

"When are we leaving?" Natasha inquired.

"Ten minutes. Be at the doors to the flight deck." Coulson said, before hanging up.

Natasha leaned forward and kissed Rain's cheek gently. "Sleep well Milaya. I'll see you when I get back." She whispered.


	39. Chapter 40

_**Author: Trying my hand at writing Loki.. even though I really don't like him. Lots of warning for: blood, child abuse, murder, a couple of sadistic characters and language. Flashbacks/memories in italics.**_

Loki loved chaos... lived for it even.

Seeing these pitiful humans run, in hopes of finding safety, sent a thrill through him.

Knowing that he had been the one to cause strike such fear into their hearts... amused and excited him greatly.

He could see why the Agent Barton, whom some called Hawkeye, had enjoyed such chaos and fear in his youth.

He had looked deep into the Hawk's mind and soul, shoving aside memories of a dark haired woman and young children. He had hesitated over memories of a fearless young woman who called the agent Father and craved his approval. The red haired woman had held his interest a bit longer. She was the Hawk's partner, ally and possible lover. Of the last... he couldn't be sure.

But it was older memories that interested him more.

And one, he was content to watch again and again.

 _"You little whore! Get back here!"_

 _"No!"_

 _"I said come here!"_

 _Clint's head turned at sound of a woman's scream and he hesitated. Whatever was going on, had nothing to do with him._

 _Another scream made his cringe and he remembered a little boy crying out in almost the exact same way when the boy's parents had too much to drink._

 _"Leave me alone!"_

 _The screams were coming from the next apartment over from the one he was renting._

 _A thud shook the shelving across the room and then he heard sobbing._

 _"Fuck me." he sighed, shoving a knife in his waistband and pulling on his boots._

 _The front door was unlocked so getting in was easy enough. The whole place reeked of booze and cigar smoke, not the mention the smell of a sink full of dishes and piles of dirty laundry._

 _"Get up and stop your whining. I said get up!"_

 _Clint pulled out his knife and peeked around a corner, growling softly at what he saw._

 _The man was into his forties, beer belly, balding, stained wife beater with a handful of dark hair. The dark hair belonged to a girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, who had a bloody nose and way too many bruises._

 _"Hey asshole. Let the girl go." Clint said, not even aware of stepping from his hiding place._

 _"Who the hell are you? And how'd you get into my house?" the man demanded._

 _"Like beating up little girls? Too much of a pussy to try that on a man?" Clint snarled._

 _The man tossed the girl aside like she was nothing and swung at him._

 _He dodged, slashing the man twice and opened twin wounds on his side._

 _The man was far too slow to keep up with him. Killing him was going to be far too easy._

 _"You son of a bitch!" the man howled._

 _Clint circled the man, opening more and more wounds until the man collapsed on the floor._

 _He was still breathing since he hadn't hit sliced any vital areas._

 _"You want to finish him off?" Clint called to the girl._

 _She shook her head, trembling violently beside the couch._

 _"Little bitch." the man spat._

 _"She your daughter?" Clint asked, crouching beside his victim._

 _"Yeah." the man groaned._

 _"I guess nobody even told you not to treat her like a punching bag." Clint told him, dragging his knife blade across the back of the man's thigh._

 _Blood gushed as the femoral artery was severed and the man howled._

 _"You're going to bleed out very soon. But your daughter is coming with me." Clint hissed, wiping his knife on the side of the couch._

 _The girl got to her feet slowly, staring at him with big brown eyes that made his feel exposed._

 _"Thank you." She whispered._

 _"Got a name?" Clint asked, dropping his gaze to steadily growing pool of blood on the floor._

 _"Laura." she admitted, following his eyes briefly._

 _"Come on then. I need to get my stuff from next door. Then I'll get you out of the city. Afterwards you're on your own." He told her._

 _"Where am I supposed to go after that?" Laura asked, following him out._

 _"I don't know." Clint told her._

 _"You don't know. Or care?" Laura asked him._

 _He glared over his shoulder at her for a moment before he considered keeping her around. At least she's be safe.. as safe as she could get with a twenty year old assassin looking after her._

"Kneel before me." Loki commanded the crowd outside the museum. He had dropped the illusion of wearing Migardian clothing in favor of his cloak and armor.

The crowd tried to scatter but illusions of himself appeared all over the plaza. "I... said... KNEEL!" He roared.

The crowd froze then knealt.

Loki smirked, reveling in their submission and fear... if only they had feared him like this in Asgard.

"There. Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You are made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." Loki told them.

In the middle of the crowd, an old man stood and Loki regarded him.

"Not to men like you." the old man said.

"There are no men like me." Loki smirked.

"There are always men like you." the man assured him.

"Look to your elder people. Let him be an example." Loki chucked as he aimed his scepter at the old man.

He felt the power build under his hand then rush away as the blast discharged, only to reflected back at him.

Loki cringed when he hit the ground and glared up at the man who had defied him.

A costumed hero, wearing blue with striped of white and red. He carried a shield painted in this same colors with a shining star in the center.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else... we ended up disagreeing." the hero said.

Loki sorted through the Hawk's memories for clues and found several. Flimsy books, cards with the man's image on them, black and white moving images, a large building with a section dedicated to this man and a memory that rushed forward.

 _"Did you ever read Cap's comics Rain?" Clint asked, glancing at his daughter._

 _"Not really. I saw the reprinted ones in the store sometimes. Once in a while one of the kids at school had one with them. We learned about him in History class though." Rain shrugged, looking at a picture of the Howling Commandos._

 _"He was a hero. Shame he disappeared." Clint said, joining her._

 _"Won't argue that. Captain America left one hell of a impression on the world. Bet a lot of people went into the military to be just like him." Rain smirked._

Loki shook his head and shoved the memory aside. "The soldier. The man out of time." He spat, getting to his feet.


	40. Chapter 41

_**Author: had a really really shitty day at work. Super pissed at my boss. Had hoped this chapter would blow off some steam.**_

Steve inhaled sharply when he felt the energy blast bounced off his shield.

"Cap?" Natasha asked in his ear.

"I'm fine." He assured her, glancing at the man behind him.

"Thank you Captain." the man said quietly.

Steve nodded and got to his feet as the crowd parted around him. "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else... we ended up disagreeing." he said.

One of the woman nearby gingerly touched his arm before stepping back. "It is him." she whispered.

The man called Loki glared at him for a minute before snarling, "The soldier. The man out of time."

 _"How do you know who I am?"_ Steve wondered silently then said, "I'm not the one who's out of time."

Above him the Quinjet whined and hovered into view with a mounted gun hanging from it's belly.

"Loki! Drop the weapon and stand down." Natasha commanded.

Loki fired a blast from the scepter at the Quinjet, which rolled out away from the blast.

Steve threw his shield, hitting Loki's arm and sending him off balance. As soon as the shield was back in his hand, he caught Loki with a right cross.

Loki struck back with his scepter, forcing Steve to parry until Loki managed to slam the butt of the scepter into his abdomen.

Steve threw the shield again but Loki knocked it aside.

Loki smirked as he pressed the tip of his scepter against Captain America's neck. "Kneel." He chuckled.

Steve glanced up before he jumped up, spinning to kick Loki hard enough to send him flat on his back. "Not today." He said.

Natasha narrowed her eyes and she tried for a clean shot at Loki. There were too many innocent bystanders running through the plaza. And Fury would be pissed if she shot Cap.

Not long ago, she would have seen the bystanders as collateral damage and would have taken a shot... even if she hit Cap in the process.

"Guy's all over the place." she grumbled.

The communications system squawked as "Shoot to Thrill" began to play in the cockpit. "Agent Romanoff. You miss me?" a familiar voice asked.

She smirked and the thought that Tony Stark and Clint might get along entered her mind.

It would make for some amusing banter if nothing else.

Steve cocked his head as music, if you could call it that, echoed through the plaza and a red and gold figure dove down from the sky. A pair of twin blasts from the figure's hands knocked Loki to the ground.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games." a voice said as various weapons appearing from the suit.

Steve didn't know what the weapons were or how the suit worked, but he recognized it from the dossier Agent Coulson had given him.

Iron Man... Tony Stark... Howard's son.

Loki's outfit shimmered and became something oddly civilian as he held up his hands.

"Good move." Iron Man said, retracting all his weapons.

Steve glanced at him and said, "Mr. Stark."

"Captain." Iron Man responded as the Quinjet hovered nearby.


	41. Chapter 42

**_Author: I spent four days in hell and survived! I swear if I have to do that again I might go Rocket Raccoon on someone! And still working on my Ruby Rose Cosplay, catching up on Flash and Arrow. And also doing some Sudoku. Anyways... have fun._**

Natasha glared over her shoulder as Steve and Tony stood guard over Loki.

 _"I hope my Milaya rips your tongue out and her father uses you as pin cushion for whatever you've done to him. It's far better than you deserve."_ She grumbled silently.

"I don't like it." Steve muttered.

"That makes two of us." Nat thought.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony scoffed.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve snorted, nodding to Loki.

"Still, you're pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing... Pilates? Oh... right. Kinda like calisthenics. You must have missed a lot while you were doing time as a Capsicle." Tony smirked.

Steve rolled his eyes, refusing to take the bait. Tony, like Howard, liked to get under people's skin. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." he told Tony.

"Yeah there's a lot Fury doesn't tell you." Tony scoffed.

Natasha glanced down at the instrument panel as a storm suddenly rose up around them. "Where's this coming from?" she asked.

She glanced back at Loki, suspecting him until she saw that he looked more nervous than anyone.

"What the matter? You scared of a little lightning?" Steve scoffed at Loki.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki admitted.

Natasha smirked and filed Loki's fear away from blackmail purposes later.

A loud crack of thunder echoed around them and something thudded on the top of the Quinjet.

Tony's faceplate dropped and Steve pulled his mask up as Natasha looked at a jet cam to see a blonde man crouching on top of the Quinjet.

He was wearing full battle armor and had a massive hammer.

"Shit." Natasha whispered as the rear gangway opened.

"What are you doing?!" Steve shouted at Tony.

The stranger appeared on the gangway and Tony raised his hand to fire a repulsor blast.

Natasha looked back in time to see the hammer hit Tony and send him flying into Steve.

She recognized the stranger from the security feed in New Mexico.

Loki cringed when the stranger grabbed him by the neck and jumped out of the back of the Quinjet.

"Another Asgardian!" Natasha shouted from the cockpit.

"That guy's a friendly?!" Steve shouted back, unwilling to believe it.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." Tony said.

 _"And so is Clint."_ Natasha thought.

"Stark! We need a plan of attack!" Steve snapped as Tony headed for the gangway.

"I have a plan. Attack." Tony said before rocketing out of the plane

Steve raised an eyebrow at the speed at which Tony flew off before grabbing a parachute.

Natasha watched him skeptically because as far as she knew, he couldn't fly. The jet was thousands of feet above the ground and the Quinjet was moving at a supersonic clip.

"I'd sit this one out Cap." she told him.

"I don't see how I can." he said.

"These guys come from legend.. they're basically Gods." she shouted.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." he called over his shoulder before diving out of the Quinjet.

Natasha rolled her eyes at Steve's old fashioned nature. It was endearing.. to a point.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Loki groaned as Thor bellowed, "Where is the Tesseract?!"

"I've missed you too." Loki laughed.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood!" Thor shouted.

Loki got up and said, "You should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All Father have to muster to conjure you here? To your precious Earth?"

Thor dropped Mjolnir and grabbed Loki by his shirt front, giving him a powerful shake. "I thought you were dead." he growled.

"Did you mourn?" Loki chuckled.

"We all did. Our father..." Thor began.

"Your father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" Loki scoffed, swatting Thor's hands away.

"Loki, we were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none other of that?"

"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I, who was and should be king." Loki said bitterly.

"So you took the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No. The Earth is under my protection."

"And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I meant to rule them and why should I not?" Loki chuckled.

"You think yourself above them?"

"Well, yes."

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. The throne would suit you I'll." Thor whispered sadly.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract and when I wield it..." Loki raged.

"Who showed you this power?! Who controls the would be king?!" Thor interrupted.

"I am a king!" Loki screamed.

"Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream!" You come home!" Thor shouted back.

"I don't have it. You need the cube to send me home, but I've sent it off, I know not where." Loki told him.

Thor called Mjolnir to his hand, knowing Loki was lieing. "You listen well brother..."

Loki blinked as something red and gold flew in out of the dark and slammed into Thor, sending them both flying into the trees.

"I'm listening." he chuckled.

 ** _Author: I think I'll leave it here._**


	42. Chapter 43

**_Author: I swear I'm still alive! It's just been kinda crazy but I'm still here. Just been watching Prison Break, working, playing ESO, etc... I also got Alex Irvine's hardback of Age of Ultron. And I'm happy to say that I was spot on with Cooper's age! He's about 9 and Lila is about 4._**

Thor glared at the red and gold clad stranger as he got to his feet. "Do not touch me again." he warned.

"Then don't take my stuff." the figure said, opening it's faceplate to reveal a man within.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with." Thor told him.

"Uh... Shakespeare in the Park? Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?"

Thor smirked.

Under different circumstances, he would gladly sit and jest with this metal clad stranger.

"This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice." he said.

"If he gives up the cube, he's all yours. Until then... stay out of the way." the metal man said as the faceplate closed again.

Thor narrowed his eyes as the metal figure walked away.

"Tourist."

 _"Tourist?! I knew this world before your forefathers existed!"_ Thor raged silently, slamming the metal man with Mjolnir .

The metal man flew through a tree and skidded through the dirt.

"Okay." Tony groaned.

He hit the Asgardian with a repulsor blast that didn't keep him down long.

The reports from New Mexico were right... Asgardians were tougher as hell.

Thor raised his hammer and summoned a bolt of lightning that struck Tony's suit.

Heads up displays were going nuts, systems were shorting out and Tony was having a hard time moving.

"Power at four hundred percent capacity." Jarvis said calmly.

"How about that." Tony chuckled.

He took advantage of the overcharge and unleashed another blast that served two purposes: drain the excess power and blast the Asgardian away.

 _"Bad idea."_ Tony thought as the Asgardian came flying right back at him.

Alerts popped up on the displays as the Asgardian dented and crumpled his armor.

He fired a repulsor blast to free himself and the Asgardian almost knocked him flat with that hammer.

 _"Shit, shit, shit."_ Tony thought as he jetted away to circle back around.

Cap narrowed his eyes as his shield richoeted off Tony's gauntlet and the Asgardian's hammer before returning to him.

"Hey! That's enough!" He shouted from his perch on a nearby outcropping.

Thor stared up at the newcomer, still seething with rage and full of adrenaline.

Steve jumped down to land beside them and said, "I don't know what you plan on doing here..."

"I have come here to put an end to Loki's schemes." Thor told him.

"Then prove it and put that hammer down." Cap said.

"Uh no... bad call. He loves his hammer." Tony protested.

Thor backhanded Tony away with Mjolnor and roared, "You want me to put the hammer down!?"

Steve ducked behind his shield as the Asgardian brought the hammer down.

The impact sent out a shock wave to destroyed every tree in about a hundred yards and left Steve's ears ringing.

Thor flew back, sprawling on his back on the ground as he tried to get his breath back.

"Are we done here?" Steve asked as Tony powered down.

Natasha rolled her eyes at the trio of testosterone filled men as the Asgardian grabbed his brother.

"And now I see why you hate most men Milaya. They're mostly idiots." She chuckled.

 ** _Author: I'm gonna try to get another chapter out before I go back to work Friday. In the meantime: enjoy._**


	43. Chapter 44

**_Author: finished off Prison Break while I wrote this. More of Rain after this But in the meantime: enjoy as always._**

May 4th

"Good thing you're awake. Director Fury's asking for you."

"Huh?" Rain yawned.

"Director Fury wants you. Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers successfully brought back the man who was responsible for the facility collapse in New Mexico." the doctor said, handing her a cup of coffee.

Rain nodded and put her communicator back in her ear. "Director? This is Agent Rain. Do you copy?" she asked, sipping the coffee.

"I copy. Where are you?" Fury said, not breaking his stride.

"Still in the infirmary. I was told you were asking after me." she admitted.

"Meet me in the Detention Area. We have the man who took your father." Fury told her.

Rain's eyes narrowed and she growled, "I'll be there in less than five minutes."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Please let me rip him to pieces."

Fury turned to glance at Rain, who had slipped up on his blind side... which would have pissed him off more if he didn't trust her so much.

"You'll get a chance. Be patient." He assured her.

"I'm far from patient." She growled, glaring at Loki.

Loki smirked at the young woman who he knew from the Hawk's memories.

"So you are the Hawk's..." he began.

"Don't you dare talk about him! And if you hurt him, I will torture you until you beg for death!" Rain screamed.

"Coulson. Come get Agent Rain." Fury said, grabbing Rain by the arm to keep her from diving at the cell.

The door behind them open and Coulson came in to grab Rain.

"Calm down. We'll find him. He'll be alright, I promise. Just give it time." Coulson whispered in her ear.

Rain snarled at Loki but let him drag her away.

"I admire her fire." Loki chuckled.

Fury ignored his comment and said, "In case it's unclear if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass..." He touched a button on the panel and the floor below the cell opened up.

Loki looked down at the ground... thousands of feet below.

"Thirty thousand feet. Straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works. Ant. Boot." Fury smirked, pointing at Loki then the control panel.

"It's an impressive cage." Loki chuckled, meaning it. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury told him.

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you can on such lost creatures to defend you." Loki smirked.

Fury moved to stand in front of Loki and growled, "How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace but you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad you did."

Loki laughed and smirked, "Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share... and then to be reminded what real power is."

"Well, let me know if real power wants a magazine or something." Fury scoffed before walking away.


	44. Chapter 45

**_Author: hey all. Working a lot over the weekend so weekdays are for writing and everything else. Having fun with a very pissed off Rain. And OMG: the latest episode of RWBY! Forgive the length_**

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner chuckled.

Rain shot a glance at him over her shoulder from where she was fuming by the windows.

Natasha, Steve, Thor and he were all gathered on the bridge to figure out what to do with Loki now that they had him.

It had been far to easy to capture him so nobody believed it was over.

"Loki's going to drag this out. Thor? What's his play?" Cap asked, looking at the Asgardian.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, not any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him Earth, in return I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor told him.

"An army... from outer space." Cap repeated, looking around.

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner muttered.

"Selvig?" Thor asked, turning his attention to Banner.

"He's an astrophysicist." Banner told him.

"He's a friend." Thor corrected.

"Selvig was in New Mexico studying atmospheric anomalies when two of those anomalies dumped Thor and his hammer on Earth." Rain said, joining them.

"When was this?" Steve asked.

"Late May into early June of last year. During the same week that Natasha was baby sitting Stark and I was tracking down Banner." she told him.

"How were you... after that fiasco?" Banner whispered.

"Mild concussion. And a nice little scar near my hairline. But I've had worse." Rain shrugged.

"Loki has Selvig under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours." Natasha said, glancing up at Rain.

Banner watched Rain as she wiped at her eyes, wondering who meant so much to her that she lost her composure so easily.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Cap said, shooting Rain a sympathetic glance.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him." Banner chuckled.

Thor glared at Banner and growled, "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And my brother."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him and said, "He killed eighty people in two days."

 _"And kidnapped my father."_ Rain snarled silently.

"He's adopted." Thor muttered.

"So am I but I don't go around kidnapping and murdering people." Rain scoffed.

Natasha gave Rain a look that said, _"We kill to serve a greater good not for fun."_

Bruce had decided to ignore them all and focus on the real problem. "I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium... what do they need the iridium for?" he muttered.

Finding out what had been stolen had been easy but they had no idea what Selvig was going to do with it.

"It's a stabilizing agent. It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD."

Rain and Thor both turned when Tony walked in and each of them felt their hackles raise.

"No hard feelings Point Break. You've got a mean swing." Tony chuckled.

Thor relaxed, not understanding the joke but accepting Tony as an ally.

"Nyssa Baelton. Is that your real name?" Tony asked, turning to Rain.

"Rain Barton." she admitted.

"And you two?" he smirked, nodding to Natasha.

"That is no concern of yours." Natasha growled.

Tony smirked and rambled, "Also, iridium will mean the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants."

Maria narrowed her eyes as Tony wandered into Fury's work station and was trying to watch all of the monitors with a hand over one eye.

"How does Fury even see these?" He asked.

"He turns." Maria growled.

"Sounds exhausting." Tony shrugged.

Rain rolled her eyes and sat on the table beside Natasha, twirling one of her Escrima sticks like a baton.

"Anyway, the rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source with high energy density. Something to kick start the cube." Tony rambled.

"When did you become an expert on thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill demanded irritably.

"Last night. Selvig's notes. The extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony said without missing a beat.

Natasha rolled her eyes as Steve asked, "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

They were all learning to ignore Tony's constant joking.

"He'd have to hear the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce muttered.

"It's cute. They're speaking English. Just a strange sort of English." Natasha chuckled in Russian to which Rain snickered.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony piped up.

"Well... if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce shrugged.

"Finally someone who speaks English." Tony chuckled.

Cap looked up at Thor and asked, "Is that what just happened?"

"I don't retract my previous statement." Natasha said, keep to her native tongue.

"It's a fucked up kind of English. That's for damn sure." Rain shrugged.

"It's good to finally meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work in anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Tony said, shaking Bruce's hand.

"Thanks." Bruce whispered, looking uncomfortable at the mention of the Hulk.

Everyone looked up as Fury walked back in. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." He told Tony.

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve piped up.

To him, it looked like Loki's scepter used the same kind of energy as what he saw while fighting the Red Skull in Europe.

"Do we believe in magic now?" Rain asked, looking at Fury.

"I don't know but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury said.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor asked.

"I do! I understood that reference!" Steve chirped, looking extremely proud of himself.

Nat chuckled and Rain smiled sadly.

"Shall we play Doctor?" Tony asked Bruce.

"This way sir." Banner said, gesturing towards the lab down the corridor where the scepter and their equipment was set up.

Fury set a hand gently on Rain's shoulder and whispered, "We'll find him girl."


	45. Chapter 46

**_Author: I'm alive! And yes I skipped the Science Bro-mance scene. Just so everyone knows I do plan to have considerably more time after this weekend because I'm quitting my job. I have about as many reasons as Fury had secrets. Anyways feel free to laugh and go "Oh Shit."_**

Thor watched as Coulson spoke softly to the young woman who had spoken out against his excuse of Loki's adoption.

Whatever had happened... whoever Loki had taken... it left her upset.

She was built slight and lean but he could see the warrior spirit within her.

When she had been escorted into the room by Coulson, he had watched her struggle then settle. But there was still rage shimmering just under the surface, despite the mask she wore.

In a way, she reminded him of his mother.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Coulson said, joining him.

"What troubles her?" Thor asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Loki took someone very special to her." Coulson whispered.

"Even more important than the red haired woman?" Thor asked.

Coulson looked back at Rain then up at Thor.

"That word "Milaya"... It means beloved. Does it not?" Thor asked.

"You speak Russian?" Coulson asked in Natasha's native tongue.

Thor chuckled and said, "I do not know the names of all Migardian languages Son of Coul. But like my father, I have the gift of All Speak. I can understand an language though I may not be able to speak it myself."

Coulson smirked and pulled up SHIELD's most recent files on Jane Foster.

"As soon as Loki took Erik Selvig, we moved Jane Foster. They've got an excellent observatory in Tromsø. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe." Coulson explained.

"Thank you. It's no accident, Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man." Thor said.

"He probably intends to kill them. Once he gets what he wants they're expendable." Rain muttered bitterly from behind them.

Thor looked back at her, hating to admit that she could be right.

"He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything around here." Coulson said, drawing his attention again.

"They were better as they were. We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we come here battling like Bilgesnipe." Thor told him, wishing no Asgardian had ever come to Midgard.

"Bilge what?" Rain piped up as Coulson looked confused.

"Bilgesnipe. You know. Huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" Thor said, miming the antlers with his fingers.

"That is priceless." Rain snickered.

Thor glanced over at her and there was a soft click that he remembered from something Darcy had said about Facebook.

"Agent Rain!" Fury said sharply.

"It's for the rare occasion when I may need to blackmail him." Rain called.

"No we don't have those." Coulson told Thor as Fury gave Rain a disapproving look.

"Well they are repulsive and they trample everything in their path." Thor explained.

"So the Abomination with antlers." Rain supplied to which Coulson and Fury both actually smirked a bit.

Joking during what should be a serious situation... definitely something she had inherited from Clint.

"When I first came to Earth... Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price. Now... again. In my youth, I courted war." Thor sighed.

"War hasn't started yet. You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?" Fury asked.

"I don't know. Loki's mind is far afield. It's not just power he craves. It's vengeance... upon me. There's no pain that would pry that need from him." Thor admitted.

"A lot of guys think that, until the pain starts." Fury assured him.

"I'd be more that happy to take that bet sir." Rain growled.

Thor actually jumped when her voice came from beside him and not behind him. She had moved halfway across the bridge without a sound and now stood three feet to his left.

"I know you are." Fury said.

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked, holding Fury's gaze.

"I'm asking what you are prepared to do." Fury whispered.

"Loki is a prisoner." Thor told him. He would not violate his ideals to gather information as Fury thought he might.

"Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat who wants to be here?" Fury growled.

Rain and Coulson shared a long look before Coulson commanded, "Pull up the security feed in the detention area."

Rain realized she hadn't seen Natasha in several minutes and when the security feed came up, she found out why.


	46. Chapter 47

**_Author: one of my favorite scenes. And a part of this conversation I know by heart. Is it strange that I love seeing Loki get his ass handed to him by Nat. Anyways, I will check in after I survive my last weekend of work._**

Natasha smirked inwardly when Loki finally stopped and turned to face her.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me." He told her.

"But you figured I'd come." She said, walking down the catwalk to the chair near the glass.

"After... After whatever tortures Fury can concoct. After he sicced that feisty little creature he keeps on a leash on me. Then you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate." Loki shrugged.

He knew how this sort of situation usually went and he had seen strong men break this way many times.

And yet despite the embarrassment of being imprisoned, no one had done him any harm or questioned him in any way.

"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton." She told him.

"I would say I've expanded his mind." Loki chuckled.

"And once you've won, once you're king of the mountain, what happens to his mind?" she asked.

Loki smirked, realizing how much control he had over the situation and remembering how often this woman appeared in the Hawk's mind.

"Is this love Agent Romanoff?" He needled.

She scoffed inwardly. He really thought she was in love with Clint? But it was best to let him believe what he wanted, for now.

"Love is for children. I owe him a debt." She said.

It was only a partial lie.

She did love Clint. He was her best friend and while not quite old enough to be her father, he did take care of her like she was another of his children.

"Tell me." He purred.

"Before I worked for SHIELD, I... well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for... or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me... he made a different call." She admitted.

And she was grateful he had because in doing so, he made her human and gave her a family.

Loki smirked, hearing some of her memories from before she first met the Hawk. _"Oh, little girl. You've done some very bad things. And now you think you owe Clint Barton your life. But there's so much more it than that isn't there?"_ He thought.

Loki grinned wolfishly and asked, "What will you do I vow to spare him?"

"Not set you free." She assured him.

"No but I like this. Your world in the balance and you bargain for one man." He chuckled.

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian... or I was." She told him.

Loki watched her carefully. He was close to understanding something important about her.

"It's really not that complicated. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out." She continued.

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter... São Paulo... the hospital fire? Barton told me everything." He said, smirking as her calm demeanor began to break.

Barton had told him some but he had guessed at others.

"Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... PATHETIC! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code. Something to make up for the horrors but they are a part of you and they will never go away." He told her.

She stepped back with wide, fearful eyes as he slammed his fist against the glass.

"I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you and that feisty bitch of his. Slowly... intimately... in every way he's knows you both fear! And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work. And when he screams, I'll split his skull! That is my bargain, you mewling quim!" He shouted.

Natasha retreated several steps before she began to cry. "You monster." She sobbed.

"Oh no. You brought the monster." He laughed.

She turned around and he was surprised to see that there were no tears. "So, Banner. That's your play." she said.

Loki cocked his head as she walked out, not fully understanding what happened at first.

When he did, he was furious but a little amazed. The mortal had beat him at his own game.


	47. Chapter 48

_**Author: I now have a desktop to work on! And thankfully that makes writing go so much faster. This is actually one of the more amusing scene because as much as I love the Avengers as a family, I love them when they verbally snipe each other. Sorry if my name change causes confusion. Forgive the length.**_

Rain followed Fury into the lab, smirking a bit. Tony Stark was not one of her favorite people so she was looking forward to seeing her superior rip him a new one.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" Fury growled.

"Uh... kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony told him, not looking a bit upset that he had been found out. Instead he looked ready for a fight.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." Fury remind them.

"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." Bruce said, pointing at the screen running the search algorithm using every spectrometer SHIELD had commandeered for that purpose.

"Yeah then you get the cube back. No muss, no fuss." Tony assured him, glancing at something on one of his screens. "What is Phase Two?" he asked.

Rain glanced over her shoulder as Captain America entered and set a weapon down on a table near the lab door. She recognized it as a World War II Hydra weapon.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons." Cap said. Glancing at Tony, he added, "Sorry. Computer was moving a little slow for me."

Deep within the Helicarrier there was a hanger space filled with steel crates... some of which held weapons like what Steve had brought in.

"Sir." Rain whispered, looking up at Fury. She had known that keeping all those Hydra weapons on the Helicarrier had been a bad idea when she found out they were being moved.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're making.." Fury began.

Tony spun a display around to reveal classified SHIELD designs for Tesseract-powered weaponry. "I'm sorry Nick. What were you lieing?" he asked.

"I was wrong Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Cap said, looking angry and disappointed. He hated spies and lies. Now he was knee deep in both.

"Captain I don't think you're seeing what's going on with a clear head." Rain told him, leaving Fury's side.

"Your boss is using something he doesn't understand to make weapons based off the designs created by an organization that wanted to destroy the world. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing what's going on just fine." he growled at her as her eyes narrowed.

"I highly doubt that." she snarled back.

The door opened and Natasha came in with Thor. "Did you know about this?" Bruce asked her.

Natasha glanced first at Rain, who was still staring down Steve then up at Fury. "You may want to think about removing yourself from this environment Doctor." she said calmly.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed." Banner chuckled.

"Loki is manipulating you." Nat said.

"And you're doing what exactly?" he asked.

Natasha wanted to roll her eyes at how stupid Banner was being. "You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you." she reminded him.

"Yes and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." he shot back.

Banner wasn't happy and nobody wanted him upset. They had all seen the video of what happened when Hulk went on a rampage. Rain had witnessed it in Harlem.

"I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Bruce added, looking at Fury.

"Because of him." Fury snapped, pointing at Thor.

" _And Hulk."_ Rain added silently.

"Me?" the Asgardian scoffed.

"Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly... hilariously, outgunned." Fury told him.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor said.

"Then why the fuck did your pyscho brother come here, kidnap agents and then murder almost a hundred people?!" Rain snapped, turning her attention from Cap briefly.

Thor glared at her as Fury growled, "But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat." He glanced at everyone in the room, including his own agents, because they were all dangerous in their own way. "The world's filling up with people who can't be matched and can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the cube?" Cap shot back.

"So being your war dogs means you get to keep us on leashes? Afraid that if you let us off them, we'll forget our loyalties and bite the hand that feeds us?" Rain snarled at Fury who glared darkly at her.

She was strong willed, short tempered and mouthy on principal but even more so when someone or something got under her skin. At that very moment everything seemed to be doing just that.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it... and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor said.

"A higher form? You forced our hand! We had to come up with something." Fury argued.

"A nuclear deterrent... because that always calms everything right down." Tony chuckled.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune Stark." Fury hissed.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep." Cap quipped.

Tony held up a hand and asked, "Hold on? How is this now about me?"

Steve looked at Tony before said, "I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"Of course it is. I mean it's Tony fucking Stark. He lives for the world to see him. He throws massive parties just to break shit and act stupid so someone will video it." Rain chuckled.

Tony glared at her and said, "You came to my party under a fake name. I'm still not entirely convinced you and Red are dating."

"You'd love it if we were wouldn't you. How hot and bothered would that get you?" Rain laughed.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor commented from nearby.

"Excuse me? Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?!" Fury snapped, turning on him.

Bruce and Natasha were firing remarks between themselves as hell looked ready to break loose where Rain, Steve and Tony were arguing.

And none of them noticed that the gemstone set into Loki's scepter had begun to glow.

Rain stepped back as Steve and Tony circled each other slowly, squaring off over an argument that none of them remembered starting. It didn't matter to her though since Tony would be easy to take down.

Steve would prove more difficult since he was super human but she was pretty sure that a bullet would still slow him down well enough.

Tony was still mad about the last thing Steve had said and gave him a little brush with his shoulder.

"Back off." Steve told him.

"I'm starting to want you to make me." he shot back.

Steve stepped forward, right into Tony's person space and growled, "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off. What are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony smirked.

"Weak. Hopeless. Pitiful. He hides behind that suit so everyone thinks he's so strong. But he's really not. He's a coward. Dismantle that suit, destroy all the voice recognition, unravel all the systems that hook Jarvis to it, trash the DNA recognition and incinerate all the pieces. The only thing left will be a man with a fancy glowy light in his chest who is as weak as a newborn." Rain quipped.

Tony glared darkly at Rain. He had not been prepared for her rant about him.

"I know guys with nothing you have that are worth ten of you. I've seen the footage and she's right. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Steve told him.

"I think I would cut the wire." Tony smirked.

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero." Steve told him.

"A hero? Like you? You're a lab experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle." Tony smirked.

"Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds." Steve hissed.

They both heard a soft crackling sound as Rain pulled out her escrima sticks and activated the electrified tips. She was walking around them slowly, listening to their argument.

"You people are so petty. And tiny." Thor laughed.

Fury shook his head as he realized the situation was spiraling out of control fast. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to..." he began.

"Where?! My room? You rented my room." Banner interrupted.

None of them wanted to say it aloud but they all knew that the cell holding Loki was designed for the Hulk. "The cell was just in case..." Fury admitted.

"You needed to kill me. But you can't. I know, I tried." he interrupted again.

Rain was the first to turn his way, watching as he swallowed thickly.

"I got low and didn't see a way out. So I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spat it back out... so I moved on. I focused on helping people. I was good. Until you dragged me into this freak show and put everyone else in danger. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?" Banner ranted.

"Dr. Banner... put down the scepter." Cap whispered.

Banner glanced down, not aware of having picked up the scepter. When he looked back up, he saw Natasha and Fury both ready to pull out their sidearms. Everyone else had stepped back except Rain, who had moved to join Fury and Natasha. The hostility in the arm was still thick and even worse... he could feel the other guy trying to get loose.

Rain's eyes moved when the computer beeped and she saw a message on the screen reading "95% Match" in red letters, which glowed oddly in the haze that lingered in the corner of her vision.

"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce muttered, setting the scepter down and going to see where the Tesseract was.

He was refocused on the mission but the others were still bickering.

None of them knew it yet but Loki had gotten into their heads, setting them against each other.

"The Tesseract belongs to Asgard. No human..." Thor began.

"I'll go after it." Tony said, heading for the door.

Cap moved to intercept him and growled, "No you don't."

"You going to stop me?" Tony asked, stopping just short of making physical contact with Steve.

"Put on the suit." Cap hissed.

As Fury watched, they were almost all at each other's throats again. Banner was still at the computer, focusing on that. He saw Rain sitting on the edge of a table, holding her head as if suffering from a migraine.

"Oh no." Banner whispered as a message reading "100% Match" flashed on the screen.

A split second later, an explosion rocked the Helicarrier.


	48. Chapter 49

_**Author: And we're about to have all hell break loose aboard the Helicarrier. Ever since Avengers came out, I've theorized what it was like for Clint during the first portion of the movie. Unfortunately what I've come up with is not very nice for Clint & is going to leave him with some issues, which will be explored later on. I know... I shouldn't be so mean but damn it... I can't help it. **_

" _Your amazing eyesight is a very unique skill Agent Barton. One that is about to assist in my escape."_ Loki purred.

" _Go fuck yourself."_ Clint growled.

Being locked away in his head for roughly three days, or so his internal clock told him, had been nothing short of torture... physically and mentally.

Loki had picked through his memories, watching moments he wanted to be kept private and memories he wanted to forget.

The bastard had discarded memories of Laura, ignoring her for the most part. But he had somehow convinced himself that Clint and Natasha were together.

Natasha would probably yell at him a bit later for it but she would know he didn't encourage it.

Loki had sneered when he realized that he had a daughter who was a SHIELD agent as well.

" _Should I meet her... I will torment her. Torture her. Tell her how you beg to be released from your prison. Won't that disappoint her... your daughter... the girl who views you as one of the most amazing men in the world. Does she know how many people you killed in cold blood? How many innocent people died at your hands? I shall enjoy shattering her faith and trust in you."_ Loki had laughed.

Clint had raged at Loki from the prison in his mind, to the point that he had almost broken from whatever the scepter had done to him.

The bastard had only reinforced the mind control and commanded him to go without sleep, food or a shower.

So now he was exhausted, starving, reeked of blood, sweat and grime... and looked like shit.

" _I will kill you, you son of a bitch."_ he muttered.

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One of the strike team smirked when the arrow exploded and disabled the turbine.

"Hill!" Fury's voice echoed over the Helicarrier's frequency.

"External detonation. Number three engine is down!" Hill answered.

Clint watched pieces of the turbine fall, trailing smoke and fire on their trip to the ground.

"I'm on it. Engine Three, I'll meet you there."

That was Tony Stark and he was talking to someone else on Fury's team, but Clint wasn't sure who.

It didn't matter... not really. He'd make sure they didn't get there and even if they did, it wouldn't make much difference.

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Rain gave her head a shake to clear it and looked at the part of the lab that had collapsed during the explosion.

Tony and Steve had taken off to fix the engine while Bruce and Nat had disappeared.

"Sir?!" she called over the sound of creaking metal and scrambling agents.

"Rain, I need you to head for the detention level. That explosion was probably just a distraction." Fury told her.

"You think someone's gonna go after Loki?" she asked, heading for the door. It was a rhetorical question because his reasoning made sense.

"If you see your father, DO NOT engage!" he shouted after her.

" _Thanks for the faith boss."_ she thought.

She and Clint sparred regularly but she had never been able to beat him... even though she knew he was holding back.

It really made her wonder just how truly dangerous her father was.

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The Quinjet hovered near an external hatch chosen to give them quick access to the detention area.

One of the team popped the door open and they dropped down into a deserted hallway.

"Keep that engine down. The rest of you, with me." Clint ordered, splitting the strike team.

He'd take a handful with him to spring Loki.


	49. Chapter 50

_**Author: I solemnly swear I meant to update sooner. But I've gotten distracted with life: having a new phone, having time to do absolutely nothing and multiple trips to IKEA. So... there's also a lot going on during this chapter and all of it happening about the same time too. I'm sure everyone remembers the huge "let's show every Avenger in different places" scene. Also Rain gets to play Miss Badass.**_

Natasha blinked slowly and glanced around, taking in her surroundings.

She and Bruce were both pinned under steel beams and other debris in what appeared to be a maintence area.

" _Damn it Clint... you know these places better than I do."_ she thought.

She could hear agents scrambling both in her com and nearby, probably trying to assess the damage caused by the explosion.

"Romanoff?!" Fury shouted through her comm.

"We're okay." she whispered, even though she couldn't get her leg free from where it was caught under a beam.

Bruce was laying a few feet away, face down and fists clenched, making a constricted groaning sound. "We're okay... right?" Natasha whimpered.

Bruce's groans got considerably less human and Natasha got uneasy.

"Bruce? You've got to fight it... this is just what Loki wants. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked.

Two techs came running up to help them and she waved them away, not wanting them around if Bruce lost control. Rain had told her how terrifiying the Hulk was, even when Banner had managed to direct the rage and Betty Ross managed to calm the Hulk a bit.

"We're going to be okay. All right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away and never..." she told him, trying to make herself believe her words.

"Your life!?" he roared, glaring at her. His eyes were glowing with gamma radiance and the rage on his face terrified her.

"Bruce?" she whimpered as the transformation began.

His skin turned green and massive layers of muscles expanded as his bones and joints crackled, growing quickly to keep up with the rest of him. His roars grew deafening and rattled the wreakage around them.

"Time to go." she hissed, twisting free of the fallen beam and breaking into a run.

The Hulk turned and watched the flame haired woman as she vaulted up a stairwell and onto another level. His sight clouded over red and his pulse pounded in his ears before he let out a deafening roar.

Loki had gotten exactly what he wanted... the Hulk was loose on the Helicarrier and his soldiers were attacking.

The Hulk could do as much damage inside the Helicarrier as a rogue Quinjet could on the outside.

" _He wants to cripple us so that we can't mount a defense."_ Natasha thought as she kept running with the Hulk on her heels.

She ducked into the shadows , thinking she had lost him momentarily but he appeared behind her. Yelping, she shot a hole in a pipe near his head.

Hulk roared as steam shot down into his eyes and the flame haired woman was running again. He chased after her, tearing through everything in his path.

Natasha felt her feet leave the ground and then her back hit unyielding metal. "Owww." she moaned as she sat up slowly. Her back was throbbing and despite the fact that she could heal a little bit faster than most people, she was going to be hurting for a while.

The Hulk slammed into the wall, looked around and saw her as she pressed back against the wall. _"Clint... Laura.. I'm sorry. Milaya... I love you."_ she thought, as the Hulk took a few steps towards her.

A split second later something exploded through the wall and into the Hulk. Natasha almost sobbed as she watched Thor and Hulk crash through another wall and into a hangar deck.

She was safe.. for now.

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"Bring us around heading one eight zero! We need to get above the water!" Fury ordered. If the Helicarrier went down over a populated area, civilian casualties would number in the thousands.

"But sir... navigation systems are still recalibrating after the explosion." an officer protested.

Fury glared at him and asked, "Is the sun coming up?"

"Yes..." the officer whispered.

"Then put it on left. Get us over water! One more turbine goes down and we drop!" Fury snarled. He hated technology sometimes... he really did.

Over the com in his ear, he heard gunshots.

He knew Loki's team, no doubt led by Hawkeye, were aboard and looking for their Asgardian leader.

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Rain dropped onto a catwalk and stayed crouched, peering around carefully. She knew that Loki's soldiers were on the Helicarrier but she had no idea how many.

"Wait."

She inhaled sharply at her father's voice above her.

"What?" a different voice asked.

"Someone's here."

Her father sounded different.. cold. There was no warmth to his voice, nothing that sounded like the man she adored and practically worshiped.

" _Sorry dad."_ she thought, diving onto a different catwalk.

Not including Clint, there were four soldiers... all wearing SHIELD gear and carrying guns.

"Down there!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Rain pulled out her sidearm and shot one immediately. The soldier collapsed, struggling to breathe as blood flooded his windpipe.

"Kill her." her father commanded.

The three other soldiers dropped down to join her on the catwalk. It was close quarters, too close for them use their guns without potentially shooting each other.

Rain shot one in the leg and kicked him over the railing to send him falling further down into the maintence area. She didn't hestitate to hear him hit another catwalk or maybe the floor below, too busy holstering her gun and pulling out her escrima sticks.

" _That's my girl."_ Clint whispered, watching Rain from the prison inside his head.

Rain twisted away as one of the soldiers tried to stab at her, sliding one of her sticks under the strap of his gun and tossing it down into the maintence area below. "Bitch." he snarled.

"I really don't like that word." she growled, catching him across the jaw hard enough to send him reeling.

Her eyes tracked the knife that went skittering to the floor of the catwalk.

The other man tried to get his hands around her throat to choke her but she sidestepped him, smacking him in the ribcage, stomach and shoulder in quick succesion.

He fell back gasping as she tossed the stick in her right hand to her left, grabbed the other soldier's knife and slit his throat.

"You fucking little..." the last soldier hissed before she pulled her sidearm out and shot him between the eyes.

"This is Rain Barton. I've got three of Loki's soldiers dead at my location and a fourth somewhere below." she said, once her sidearm was holstered and her escrima sticks put away.

"Any sign of Hawkeye?" Fury asked in her ear.

"I saw him briefly but I think he took off to join the other soldiers he brought with him. They're either going to bust out Loki or to do more damage to the Helicarrier." Rain admitted.

"Stay where you are. Someone will be there shortly to collect the bodies." Fury told her.

"Yes sir." she whispered.


	50. Chapter 51

_**Author: because I knew my book was missing some stuff, I found the Avenger's script (or at least a version of it) online. Needless to say, it's a rather amusing read & helpful. And I just realized that last chapter made this story hit 50 chapters! I think this is the longest story I've ever written! Thank you everyone for so much love! Have lots of snark, action & a fun "Oh shit" moment. Oh yeah... and more asshole Tony.**_

"Come on, we need to get out of here."

Steve slid past two techs helping an injuried third away from the edge of the turbine mount. "Stark? I'm here!" he called.

"Good."

Tony dropped into view & hovered in his Iron Man armor to suvery the wreckage. Steve still had no idea how the suit worked, but even he had to admit... it was brillant.

The hole caused by the explosion was huge but somehow Fury was keeping it in the air. The staff said the turbine was only jammed, so there was a good possibility it would hold together if they could get it started again. A majority of the damage was to structure holding the turbine & area's just inside the hull, including Bruce's lab.

"I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris." Tony muttered, pulling debris from the turbine.

The explosion had been meant to keep them distracted & thus far it was doing it's job.

" _Remind me to congratulate the bastard who did this later. After I punch him."_ Tony thought, noting Steve was watching him expectedly.

"I need you to get to that engine control panel & tell me which relays are in overload position." he said.

"Okay." Steve whispered, jumping across thirty thousand foot drop & opening the panel Tony pointed to. _"I hate the modern world."_ he thought as he stared at all the circuits.

"What's it look like in there Cap?" Tony asked.

"Well... it seems to run on some form of electricity." Steve muttered.

Tony shoved another piece of debris loose & admitted, "Well, you're not wrong."

Silently fuming, Steve forced himself to swallow his pride. He wasn't used to this new world yet, one where technology ruled. And this was Howard's son... he had to remember that Howard had been a good man & hopefully, his son was too. "Okay, the relays look to be intact. What's our next move?" he asked.

Tony looked the turbine blades over from inside the housing & admitted, "Even if I clear the rotors... this thing won't reengage with a jump. I'm going to have to get in there & push."

"If that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded." Steve protested.

"Then stay in the control unit & reverse the polarity to disengage mag..." Tony rambled.

"Speak English!" Steve snapped then added silently, _"Not your messed up kind either."_

Tony narrowed his eyes & growled, "See that red lever? It'll slow the blades down enough for me to get out. Stand by it & wait for my word."

Steve took a running leap & jumped, landing near the lever.

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Thor caught Hulk's arm, struggling to hold both it & the rage monster's attention. "We are not your enemies Banner! Try to think!" he growled.

Hulk snorted & responded by punching Thor through the wall.

" _This beast is stronger than a bilgesnipe."_ Thor thought, rolling into a crouch. He brushed the back of his hand under his nose  & glanced at the blood on his hand. _"But a much better fighter than one."_ he added as he smirked.

Power surged through him as he held out a hand, summoning Mjolnir to him. Mjolnir smashed throught the far wall & reached his hand just Hulk charged towards him. _"Forgive me Banner."_ Thor thought, slamming Mjolnir into the Hulk with enough force to send him flying backwards.

Snarling, Hulk threw the tail of the plane at Thor who slid underneath it unharmed & threw Mjolnir at Hulk with all his strength. Hulk hit the floor with Mjolnir nearby & promptly tried to lift it.

" _None but I can lift Mjolnir. Not even this giant."_ Thor thought, watching the Hulk struggle to lift Mjolnir.

Hulk screamed his rage at not being able to lift the hammer as plates of the floor buckled around him.

Thor took a running jump, knee'd Hulk in the face & grabbed Mjolnir. He swung himself onto Hulk's back, attempting to use Mjolnir's handle to choke Hulk into submission. He hoped that Banner would return to himself if Hulk fell unconcious.

Hulk snarled & thrashed, destroying machinery & aircrafts in his attempt to dislodge Thor.

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"We need a complete evac of the lower hangar level." Maria Hill said, looking up from watching Hulk & Thor fight via survelliance cameras.

Everyone else was occupied keeping the Helicarrier in the air & finding the rest of Loki's team. Four were dead, that much they knew because of Rain. But they had no idea how many more were aboard the Helicarrier.

A clicking sound drew her attention downwards, where she saw a concussion grenade rolling across the floor. Her next reaction was instinctive.

"Grenade!"

The explosion sent her tumbling down the steps & she crawled away, feeling bruises forming.

The bridge was suddenly alive with hostile soldiers & gunfire from both sides. Stray bullets cracked the glass windows & sent up showers of sparks from computer terminals.

Downstairs Coulson looked up as Sitwell's voice crackled out a general alarm: "Perimeter breach. Attackers are wearing SHIELD gear. Hold on to every junction."

" _If this doesn't qualify as an emergency I don't know what does."_ Coulson thought, letting the locker in the armory run it's recognition scans before stepping inside.

Back on the bridge Maria hissed as a bullet fragment cut her cheek. _"Looks like the evac will have to take care of itself."_ she thought.

"Sir we have Hulk & Thor on level four. Levels two & three are dark." Sitwell told Fury.

Maria looked at Fury & said, "Sir Hulk will tear this place apart!"

"Get his attention." Fury hissed.

Ducking down, Maria touched her earpiece & said, "Escort 606, proceed to 270 Main Shuttle. Don't get too close."

"Copy that." the pilot said, banking right to head for the shuttle.

" _Not sure I get paid enough for this."_ the pilot thought as he noticed the fight between Hulk  & Thor.

"Target acquired... target engaged." he muttered, firing off a long burst from a 20-millimeter rapid fire cannon.

The bullets peppered Hulk's back as Thor dove for cover.

" _Shit."_ the pilot thought as Hulk turned  & roared.

"Target angry! Target angry!" he shouted as Hulk jumped towards him.

The pilot ejected as Hulk began to tear the jet's nose apart. "Mayday! Mayday!" he shouted, watching the jet explode before the wreckage & Hulk fell towards the ground.

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Tony was glad he had built a ruby laser torch into the suit for an occasion such as this... or one similar. He kicked the last pieces of debris until it fell away & hovered for a moment, taking a breather.

" _Should be able to get it running now."_ he thought.

Sparks caught his attention & he glanced over to see that they were from ricocheting bullets.

Cap was fighting off some of Loki's team & he seemed to have a handle on it.

Tony really just needed him to stay near the red lever so that he didn't get shredded to pieces while jump starting the turbine.

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Fury shot another of Loki's team & muttered, "They're not getting through here so what the hell..."

Someone shouted when an arrow embedded itself near a console & exploded. Sharpnel flew & a second arrow hit a command console. Fury fired up at where the arrow had flown from, where Clint had been, as the entire instrument panel flashed "Malfunction" & began to shut down.

"Clever motherfucker." he growled, hating Clint for a moment.

He had hunted down Clint to recruit to SHIELD for his amazing eyesight & skill as a sniper. But the man proved himself to be extremely smart & talented time & time again. All of Clint's unique arrows & even the bow design had all been the archer ideas. Half the time he made the arrows himself if he had the time. Coming up with a virus to hack & disable the helicarrier's systems plus making an arrow that could deliver the virus... one of Clint's best & worst ideas ever.

"Sir, we've lost power to Engine 1." Sitwell yelps.

"We are in an uncontrolled descent." another voice said over the speakers as the Helicarrier began to tip so steeply that some of the fighter jets spilled off the flight deck.

"It's Barton! He took out our systems & is headed for the detention level. Does anyone copy?" Fury shouted.

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Rain pressed herself into the corner of the catwalk railing as one of the soldier's bodies slid past her. The close proximity of the bodies, plus the mixed reek of blood & piss had left her a bit naucious. Now the sudden sharp tilt of the Helicarrier was only making it worse. "This is Rain. I copy... but I don't think I've got another fight in me right now." she whispered, swallowing thickly.

"Stay where you are if you can." Fury told her.

"Probably.." Rain began before she leaned over the railing, gagging.

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Natasha inhaled slowly & forced her body to go still.

Since her run-in with the Hulk had come to an end, she had been sitting in a dark corner because she was ashamed to let someone see her like she was: rocking back & forth, shaking & crying.

The Red Room had made her stronger than this but there was no way they could have really prepared her for something like the Hulk... what Rain had told her about the Hulk had not done the monster justice.

She wanted to stay in her dark corner & cry a bit more but there was an emergency going on.

Clint was heading for the detention level to free Loki... that couldn't be allowed to happen.

"This is Agent Romanoff... I copy." she whispered.


	51. Chapter 52

_**Author: one of the hardest chapters to write. Blame Joss Whedon for Phil's death. Lots to do in this chapter too. Seriously though... that BlackHawk fight.. And yes I was crying at the end of this.**_

" _Seriously punching the bastard who screwed up the turbine housing."_ Tony thought, pushing against the nearest turbine blade. He just had to get up to a self-sustaining speed, much faster and he ran the risk of being shredding to pieces.

The blades resisting spinning for the first few revolutions until the blade tips scoured away bent and torn bits of metal from inside the turbine housing.

"Um... Jarvis?" Tony asked, as the Helicarrier suddenly lurched around him.

"A second turbine is powering down sir." Jarvis piped up.

"Stark! We're losing altitude!" Fury shouted through the com.

"Yeap, noticed!" Tony snapped.

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"No!" Thor shouted, as he walked into the detention level and saw Loki walk out of his cell. He dove to tackle his brother... only to skid on his stomach into the cell.

"Are you ever not to fall for that?" Loki asked as the revolving door slid shut.

Thor pounded Mjolnir into the cell wall in rage and while the glass cracked, it held. Loki looked nervous but when he saw that Thor couldn't get out, he smirked. And so did the guard with him.

"The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that?" Loki chuckled, going over to the panel that he knew could drop the cell out of the Helicarrier.

There was a small sound and the nearby guard dropped to the floor silently. Thor looked in the direction of the sound and saw Agent Coulson holding a very large gun. "Move away please." Coulson said.

Loki did so, watching Coulson and the gun warily. He was learning not to underestimate mortals.

"You like this?" Coulson asked, nodding to the gun. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Want to find out?" He powered it up and rings along the barrel glowed bright orange.

Coulson felt the flash of pain before he glanced down to the see the tip of Loki's scepter protruding from his chest.

"NOOO!" Thor roared as Loki tossed Coulson against the wall.

Coulson watched Loki walk back to the control panel but couldn't get up to stop him. _"Damn... couldn't stop him."_ he thought.

Loki tapped the screen and the floor disappeared as air roared up into the Helicarrier. He touched a second control and Thor dropped out of the Helicarrier, falling thousands of feet towards the ground.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Natasha found Clint near Loki's cell. She should have been able to get the drop on him.. but something told him she was there before she could.

He spun at the last moment and let an arrow fly that passed so close that she felt the whisper of its passage.

They fought hand to hand for a few moments and Clint had the upper hand at first because he was skilled at using his bow as a weapon. Knowing this, she caught ahold of it and spun away from him with it.

Her eyes narrowed when he pulled a knife from his belt and she tossed the bow away. She hated having to fight for her life, especially against someone she considered and loved like family. She was his oldest daughter's lover and yet he was coming after her like she was just another target.

" _Sorry Clint."_ she thought, grabbing his arm and twisting it viciously. He writhed in pain and tossed the knife to his other hand to slash at her. Clint was ambidextrous... another thing on the list of what Rain had "inherited" from him. When he grabbed her hair with one hand to bare her throat and forced the knife down towards her with the other, she cursed him for that talent.

" _When in a tight corner.. play dirty."_ she thought, biting his arm.

Clint yelped out in surprise and she dropped out of his arms, swinging him around and slamming him headfirst into the guard rails.

She watched as he struggled to get up, failing several times until he just managed to get to his knees. His bow and knife were both out of reach but she knew he had more weapons on him... he always did. He stared up at her, cringing in pain and whispered, "Natasha?"

" _You put us through hell you bastard!"_ she raged in her mind as she punched him. He went down on his back and this time he stayed there. "This is Romanoff... I need a medical team to my location." she whispered into her com.

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Loki watched the monitor as the prison cell fell... and fell... before it finally shattered into a thousand piece on the earth below. Surely not even an Asgardian could survive that fall.

He felt no remorse as he decided it was time to check on Dr. Selvig's progress with the portal stability device.

"You're going to lose." Coulson whispered.

"Am I?" Loki asked curiously, glancing down.

"It's in your nature." Coulson muttered.

Loki cocked his head, trying to make sense of the dying mortal's words. "Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky... where is my disadvantage?" he asked.

"You lack conviction." Coulson told him. He couldn't move from where he sat against the wall with blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. And the enormous gun in his lap seemed absolutely useless.

Those were not words Loki had expected from the dying man. _"I have moved worlds out of conviction. Made bargains with being who snuff out planets as an afterthought."_ he thought. "I don't think I..." he began aloud.

The enormous gun choose that moment to discharge a bolt of dazzling blue energy, striking Loki in the chest and blasting him through the nearest wall.

Coulson watched but Loki did not come crawling out of the hole. "So that's what that does." he muttered, glancing at the gun in his lap.

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"Cap, hit the lever!" Tony shouted.

"Need a minute here!" Steve shouted back, hanging as tightly as he could to the cable that kept him from falling thousands of feet to the ground.

Around Tony, the turbine roared as it reached full power. "Lever! Now!" he snapped. A second later the sound that filled his ears reminded him of the sound a garage disposal made when a spoon got dropped into it. Except much louder and a hell of a lot more painful.

" _Please don't be dead."_ Steve thought as he hauled himself up the cable, crossed the platform and pulled the lever.

Vents opened up under the turbine blades, letting Tony fall out. _"Hey... I'm alive."_ he thought as he struggled to get his boot thrusters under him.

Accelerating he soared back to the Helicarrier and slammed into the last of Loki's men with a sickening crunch before he rolled over onto the catwalk.

"I really want to punch whoever screwed up those turbines." Tony muttered.

"You might get a chance if we catch up to him." Steve said as a Quinjet took off.

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Fury crouched down in from Coulson and gently took the gun from his lap. Coulson was pale and breathing shallowly.

"Sorry boss... the god rabbited." Coulson whispered.

"Just stay awake. Eyes on me." Fury told him.

"No... I'm clocking out here." Coulson joked.

"Not an option." Fury said, shaking his head. Coulson was truly one of a kind... joking in the last moments of his life.

"It's okay boss. This was never going work... if they didn't have something... to..." Coulson breathed.

Fury bowed his head as his agent died. He had lost more men than he could count between his military career and SHIELD... but this one hurt the most. "Agent Coulson is down." he whispered into his com.

"A medical team is on it's way to your location." a dispatcher told him.

"They're here... they called it." Fury sighed as the team rushed in and immediately pronounced Coulson DOA.

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Tony closed his eyes and whispered, "J... can you put a message out to Pepper? Tell her I'll give her details later. But just... tell her he's gone."

"Of course sir." Jarvis agreed solemnly.

Above him Steve drew a shakey breath and sat down with his back against the guard rail, staring out at the sky.

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"Agent Romanoff. Can we do anything for you?" one of the medical team who had come to collect Clint asked.

Natasha shook her head and muttered, "No... just make sure he's strapped down. I'll be there shortly."

The medic gently set a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry. I know Coulson was your handler."

Natasha nodded and sat down on the catwalk, pulling Clint's bow to her and settling it in her lap.

She didn't bother to hide her tears... nobody was around to see them.

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Rain was aware that the medical team was moving around her, putting the bodies of the soldiers she had killed into bags but she wasn't paying much attention.

Phil was dead... the man who had spent so many years as handler for her, her father and Natasha was dead.

She didn't want to believe it... but somehow she knew it was true.

"Damn it... you're not supposed to die Phil." she sobbed, buring her face against the guard rail.

After a few minutes one of the medical team touched her back gently before leaving her alone to mourn.


	52. Chapter 53

_**Author: I apologize for the tears the last chapter brought and any this chapter might bring. I seriously think the only thing harder than writing Phil's death was writing how Laura and the kids take it. So many damn feels! So much to cover so long chapter**_

"Do you need anything ma'am?"

Rain shook her head, glanced at the member of the maintence crew who had spoken and whispered, "No... I just need to make a phone call."

"You've got my condolences.. and the rest of my crew too." the woman told her.

"Thanks." Rain whispered, pulling out her phone and finding a quiet catwalk.

Laura ruffled Cooper's hair before answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey momma. Can you hear me okay?" Rain whispered.

"Yeah sweetheart I hear you fine. Where are you?" Laura asked as Lila looked up at her expectantly. "It's your sister." she mouthed to her youngest child.

"Can we talk?" Lila asked.

Rain smiled at her baby sister's voice and asked, "At home with the kids?"

Laura chuckled and said, "Yeah. Coop's studying for a spelling test and Lila's painting."

"I'm on the Helicarrier. Not sure how long my phone signal will hold out. But I had to call..." Rain whispered.

Laura caught the change in her daughter's tone and asked, "Rain honey? What's wrong?"

"You might want to sit down mom." Rain sighed.

Cooper and Lila watched as their mother sat down and whispered, "What is it?"

Rain leaned against the catwalk railing and whimpered, "Phil's dead."

"What... how?" Laura asked.

"I can't give you any details right now. I'm sorry mom. But I knew you'd want to know." Rain sighed.

Laura wiped tears from her eyes and whispered, "Okay... thank you honey. Will you be okay?"

Rain chuckled and muttered, "I gotta be mom. The mission isn't over yet."

"Okay... just be safe. Tell Nat and your father too." Laura sobbed.

"I will." Rain assured her before the signal cut out.

"Mommy?" Lila whispered, crawling into her mother's lap.

Laura hugged Lila, pulled Cooper close and whispered, "Your uncle Phil was hurt. And he didn't make it."

Lila whined before buring her face in her mother's shirt.

"Are daddy, Rain and Aunty Nat okay?" Cooper whispered.

"They're fine." Laura told him before he clung to her, crying quietly.

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Fury glanced up when the door the conference room opened and Rain walked in. "Heard you were holding court. Figured I should be here." she whispered.

"Take a seat then." he told her.

Rain pulled her phone from her pocket to glance at the text message that had just come in: "C and L say to bring daddy and Aunty Nat home. We all love you. -M."

Fury read the look on her face and cocked his head to silently ask, _"Your mother?"_

" _She took it hard. But the kids just reminded me that I have to bring dad and Nat home safe."_ Rain told him silently with a nod and sad smile.

Tony glanced at her briefly, meeting her eyes for a second before he slid his foot off the support bar of her chair and pushed away from her.

Rain eyed Tony for a couple of minutes before pulling her knees to her chest.

Steve watched Tony and Rain before lowering his eyes to the table. Their encounter in Bruce's lab was pretty fresh in his mind.

Rain had been vicious... a far cry from the woman he had known at the Retreat.

And Tony... had been cocky but distant. Howard had been friendly despite his cockiness.

Loki's scepter had been messing with their heads but he wondered just how much of what he had seen out of them had been part of their true colors.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. I guess he never did get you sign them." Fury said, tossing bloodstained trading cards onto the table.

Rain flinched away but Steve picked one up and looked at it. He recongized the picture from World War II, before he started going after Hydra.

"We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, the location of the cube, Banner, Thor... I got nothing for you." Fury told them, pausing to get his emotions under control. "I lost my one good eye... maybe I had that coming."

Rain glanced up at Fury but didn't say anything... none of them did. That was fine by him since he needed them to listen more than anything.

"Yes.. we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier." Fury admitted.

Tony looked up at Fury as the director went on, "There was an idea, Stark and Rain know this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight battles that we never could."

" _And how did that work out for you?"_ Tony thought.

"Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea... in heroes." Fury told him.

Tony got up suddenly, surprising Rain and Steve both. He looked like he was about to say something but instead just left the bridge.

"Well... it's a good old-fashioned notion." Fury whispered.

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"You fell out of the sky."

Bruce looked around from where he sat in a pile of rubble. There was a Hulk sized hole in the roof above him. "Did I hurt anybdy?" he whispered.

"There's nobody around to get hurt. You did scare the hell out of some pidgeons, though." the security guard told him.

"Lucky." he said.

"Or just good aim. You were awake when you fell."

"You saw?" Bruce asked, wanting to run but deciding against it since he had nothing to wear and that he liked his modesty.

The guard tossed him a pair of pants and said, "The whole thing.. right through the ceiling. Big, green and buck ass nude. Didn't think these would fit you until you shrank back down to a regular sized fellow."

"Thank you." Bruce whispered, pulling the pants on. They were a little big but better than nothing.

"You an alien?" the guard asked.

"What?" Bruce scoffed.

"From outer space... an alien." the guard repeated.

"No." Bruce muttered.

"Well then, son... you've got a condition." the guard told him.

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Clint thrashed as he tried to fight through the last of the mind control. He was disoriented and everything felt... wrong.

"Clint. You're going to be alright."

He knew that voice... Natasha.

Anger and hatred flashed through him... not his but Loki's.

"You know that? Is that what you know?" he chuckled bitterly.

He shoved the anger away and whispered, "I got... I gotta flush him out."

Natasha moved around him, stopping nearby and he heard water being poured. "You've got to level out. That's gonna take time."

" _This isn't just some bad trip!"_ he wanted to scream at her.

Instead he collasped back on the bed and whispered, "You don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Take you out and stuff something else in? You know what it's like to be unmade?"

Natasha looked at him and whispered, "You know that I do." She had been made and unmade more times that she could remember. She didn't really know what she was anymore, except that she was loyal to Nick Fury, SHIELD, Clint, Rain and the rest of their family.

"Why am I back? How'd you get him out?" Clint asked, looking over at her.

"Cognitive recalibration. I hit really hard in the head." she told him with a small smile as she sat on the bed.

Clint stared at her, not sure if she was joking or not. "Thanks." he muttered.

Natasha smiled and undid the restraints. Clint was back... things were gonna be okay.

Clint sat up and rubbed his wrists. "Tasha... how many agents did I?" he asked.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for." she told him. She knew better than anyone that you couldn't blame yourself for what you did while brainwashed. And if Clint knew the number of people who had been killed, it would torment him.

"Loki... he got away?" Clint asked as Natasha got up.

"Yeah. Don't supposed you know where?" she asked.

He shook his head and took a sip of water. "Didn't need to know. Didn't ask. He's gonna make his play soon. Today." he told her.

"We have to stop him." Natasha said.

"Yeah... who's "we"?" he scoffed.

"I don't know. Whoever's left." she told him.

"Well. If I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose." Clint muttered as Natasha sat down beside him.

"Now you sound like you." she smiled.

"But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. But you want to wade into a war... why? What did Loki to you?" he said, watching her.

"He didn't. I just..." Natasha began.

They both knew she couldn't deceive him, not just because of what he had been through. Not just because he knew how Loki worked. But because of all the people in the world, Clint could read her like almost nobody else could.

"Natasha." he whispered, trying to get her to talk.

"I've been compromised." she admitted.

Clint nodded understandingly... Loki had gotten into Nat's head too.

"I got red in my ledger... I'd like to wipe it out." she whispered.

Gently Clint slid an arm around her, pulling her close. "I wish we were home." he sighed.

"Me too... Rain's here. Probably with Fury. He called her in after you were taken by Loki." Natasha told him softly.

Clint considered borrowing her com for a second but then remembered that the virus he had created also knocked out the coms. "We'll catch up with her." he muttered.


	53. Chapter 54

_**Author: Why are all of these scene so emotional?! Damn Joss Whedon for all the feels. I know I'm probably not helping much but still... Enjoy and as always, much love for the reviews. They are massively helpful for keeping my ass in gear.**_

Tony stood in the detention room where Loki had been held... and where Phil Coulson had died.

It hurt a bit more than he realized it would... losing him.

Pepper had responded to his message that Coulson had died and while he had tried to comfort her, he didn't think he had done a good job.

Emotions were not something he understood... they weren't something he could hold in his hands, take apart and put back together.

Machines... now those he understood. They were predictable and simple.

People and emotions... not so much.

A small sound drew his attention to the side, where Steve stood.

" _I don't have the stomach for another fight old man."_ Tony thought.

"Was he married?" Steve asked.

No. There was a, uh... cellist. I think." Tony admitted.

That was the only thing he knew about Coulson's personal life... unless he wanted to include the wisecrack about watching Supernanny. The cellist he only knew about because he overheard Coulson and Pepper talking in the penthouse. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to believe that the agent had actually watched Supernanny.

Coulson had always been an irritation... now he was starting to regret that.

"I'm sorry... he seemed like a good man." Steve whispered.

" _Save the apologizes for someone who cares... like that little assassin girl."_ Tony thought. "He was an idiot." he said aloud.

Steve glared at Tony and asked, "Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone." Tony quipped.

"He was doing his job." Steve insisted.

Steve's stubborness was beginning to annoy Tony. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..." Tony said, trailing off when he realized that Loki would have gotten away regardless of what Coulson had done or not done.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out Tony." Steve told him.

Tony sighed as the argument over heroism started all over again. "Right... I've heard that before." he muttered.

Steve took a few steps towards him, not quite aggressive but definitely pressing his point. "Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" he asked.

Tony's temper flared at that. He was a genius billionare! He was Iron Man! He was nobody's cannon fodder! "We are not soldiers! I am not marching to Fury's fife!" he snapped.

"Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we've got to put this behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source..." Steve told him, stopped when he saw Tony's attitude change.

Tony's thought process began to rapid fire, tiny details suddenly starting to merge together like puzzle pieces. "He made it personal." he whispered, staring at the blood stain on the wall.

"That's not the point." Steve said.

"That is the point. That's Loki's point! He hit us all right where we live. Why?!" Tony insisted. The puzzle pieces weren't falling into place fast enough.

Steve cocked his head and said, "To tear us apart." That was painfully obvious.

Tony's eyes lit up. He was on a roll and had Loki figured out. "Yeah, divide and conquer is great but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us... he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah I caught his act at Stuttgart." Steve said, struggling to follow.

"That was just the previews. This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered..." Tony rambled.

Steve and Tony's eyes widened as they both realized where Loki would strike next. Tony saw Stark Tower lit up, his name blazing in the night. Steve saw it from the ground level, a massive tower... a momument.

"Son of a bitch." Tony whispered.

"I'll find the girls." Steve told him, rushing off.

 _ **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

Erik Selvig smirked at the greatest scientific work of his life.

The machine holding the Tesseract was complete and ready for activation. It resembled the containment structure from the New Mexico facility except this one was meant to amplify and channel the Tesseract's energy.

When the portal generator powered up, it would superheat the plasma in the chamber around the Tesseract. The the lenses around the chamber would focus that energy into a beam that would tear open a hole in the universe to let the Chitauri through. Loki's triumph would be assured and no force on Earth could stop him.

Erik open his laptop, the same one he had used while working with Jane Foster and ran through a series of software checks. Soon, very soon, they would do something no human had ever dreamed of being able to do. Not even the Red Skull had understood the true potential of the Tesseract.

And best of all, they would begin their conquest using Tony Stark's Arc Reactor in his magnificent new tower in New York City.

 _ **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

"Agent Rain?!"

Rain opened the door to her temporary quarters and leaned out as Steve turned around. "Whatcha need Cap?" she asked.

"I need you to suit up." he told her.

She noted his full uniform and asked, "We going somewhere?"

"We know where Loki's going to strike next." he said.

Rain nodded and said, "Natasha's still in the medical wing, room 12-A. Take the elevator down two floors and take the first left you come to."

"Thanks." Steve said, rushing off.

Closing the door, Rain pulled out her phone and texted: "Going to war. Just in case we don't make it home..."

A few minutes later her phone buzzed with a response: "You're going to make it home. Your father and Natasha too."

Rain smiled as she grabbed her duffle bag to head to the armory.

 _ **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

Natasha turned as the door opened, glad she had gotten cleaned up first. It wouldn't look very good for her to have tear streaks on her face, regardless of who walked in.

She had told Clint about what had happened with Loki, the Hulk, Coulson. He had held her tightly while she cried softly against him. Their handler and friend was dead... their world had gone to hell... all because of Loki.

"Time to go." Steve told her.

"Go where?" Natasha asked.

"Tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" he asked, remembering a second later that she had flown one in Stuttgart. At the same time he noticed that the bed behind her was empty.

"I can." Clint whispered, stepping out of the bathroom.

At any other time, when he wasn't starving and exhausted, he would be estatic to meet Captain America. But right now he was too drained to even try to be excited.

Steve glanced at Natasha, who nodded slowly. _"Okay so he's back with us. Later, I've got a lot to ask. Especially about him and Rain."_ Steve thought.

"You got a suit?" Steve asked, looking the other man over. He definitely looked like he had been through hell.

Clint nodded as Natasha glanced his way and forced herslef to relax a little. It was her silent way of assuring him that Captain America was a good man.

"Then suit up," Steve told him. "We leave in an hour."

Natasha turned as Clint's stomach growled loudly. "We'll get you something before we leave." she told him.

 _ **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

Natasha watched as Rain laced up her boots. The black leather pants and vest she wore fit her body like she had poured into them. Her boots came to her mid calfs and her gloves matched the pants and vest. There was a gun holster strapped to one thigh but her escrima sticks were hiding in her boots. "Even ready to go to war, you're beautiful Milaya." she finally said.

Rain spun and laughed softly, shaking her head. "You're one to talk. You look gorgeous all the time." she smirked as she hugged Natasha tightly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nat asked.

"Gotta be. The mission's not over." Rain sighed.

Nat nodded against her shoulder and said, "Your dad's okay. He's back down the hall."

 _ **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

Clint tossed the protein bar wrapper in the trash can nearby and took another sip of water. The bar normally tasted like sawdust but after having nothing to eat for several days, he had barely been able to not wolf it down.

The door slid open behind him and he turned, expecting to see a tech or another agent glaring at him.

Who he saw made him feel considerably better than he had in days.

"Daddy." Rain whispered, throwing her arms around his neck tightly.

Clint held her close and whispered, "It's okay little bird. I'm here... I'm safe. Exhausted and starved but safe."

Rain sobbed softly against his neck as he held onto her and stroked her hair to soothe her. "Phil's dead." she whimpered.

"I know. And believe me, that son of a bitch is gonna pay for it." Clint growled.


	54. Chapter 56

Tony glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps and flipped the faceplate of his suit up for a better view.

Cap had Agent Barton on one side and both Rain and Natasha on his other. The girls both wore skin tight uniforms, a cat suit for Romanoff while her other half wore a vest and pants. _"Damn... why did they have to be lesbians?"_ he thought.

Agent Barton regarded him cooly before glancing at the girls. Rain rolled her eyes and Natasha shook her head.

"Decide to fight on the side that's gonna win?" Tony asked.

Clint's reaction was immediate and without a second's hesitation. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, took a split second to aim and then let the arrow fly.

"Son of a bitch!" Tony yelped, flitting a few feet away.

Rain laughed as Tony stared at the arrow that was stuck in a crate, at roughly the same height as his chest.

Steve glanced at Clint before gingerly setting a hand on the other man's shoulder.

Clint twitched away and went to retrieve his arrow from the crate.

"Okay... so don't piss off the archer." Tony muttered.

"Probably best you don't piss off any SHIELD agent." Natasha smirked.

"We'll meet you there." Steve told Tony.

"Any word on Thor? Or Banner?" Tony asked, dropping his faceplate.

"Not since Thor was dumped from the Helicarrier and Hulk bolted." Steve admitted.

Tony nodded, flinching when Clint walked by and said, "Right. Let's get to New York then."

"We'll meet you there." Clint said as he slid the arrow back in his quiver.

"Right." Tony muttered, still leery of the archer.

The SHIELD tech they startled a few minutes later in the Quinjet spun in his chair to face them. _"Oh shit... am I in trouble?"_ he thought, staring at Captain America and three agents. "I'm sorry, you guys aren't supposed to.." he began.

"Son, just don't." Steve told him.

The tech nodded and got to his feet. He wasn't going to argue with Captain America and three of his superior agents.

"Go on." Natasha told the young tech who immediately obeyed.

"Is the maintence finished?" Clint asked, sliding into the pilot seat.

Rain stuck her head out and called, "Tech? Did you finish your maintence duties?"

The tech hesitated, glanced over his shoulder and called, "Yes ma'am."

Rain nodded and closed the ramp. "Maintence was finished. Probably just before we showed up." she told Clint.

"Good. I should be able to have us in the air... probably in five minutes. Give or take." Clint said as Natasha slid into the co-pilot seat beside him.

"See if you can do better?" Steve asked.

"Working on it." Natasha assured him.

Rain slid into one of the seats to wait & Steve settled in across from her. She raised an eyebrow as he watched Clint then glanced at her. "Something on your mind Captain?" she asked.

"Nothing that can't wait." he told her then added silently, _"Even though I'm extremely curious about what's going on between you & him."_

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Maria didn't always approve of the ways Fury did things, despite the results his methods got, but she didn't like being kept in the dark about operational planning. "Sir." she said, stepping up behind him.

"Agent Hill."

"Those cards... they were in Coulson's locker. Not his pocket." she said.

Fury nodded and said, "They needed the push." He had taken advantage of Coulson's death and used it to guilt trip Steve and Tony into doing what needed to be done. He regretted having to do so but he'd deal with the guilt later.

" _We have an unauthorized departure from base."_

Fury and Hill both watched a Quinjet launched and Iron Man followed it, staying near it briefly before accelerating away. They curved north, towards New York City.

"They found it. Get our communications back up, whatever you have to do. I want eyes on everything." Fury commanded.

"Yes sir." Maria said, nodding. Fury had given her all the explaination she was going to get.

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"Sir, I've turned off the Arc Reactor but the device is already self-sustaining." Jarvis said as Tony hovered near the tower. Selvig had built the machine housing the Tesseract on the top floor just outside his & Pepper's penthouse.

"Shut it down, Dr. Selvig." Tony snapped, hoping that Selvig didn't notice the way his thrusters hiccuped. The turbines had done more damage to his suit than he wanted to admit.

"It's too late. She can't be stopped now! She wants to show us something! A new universe!" Selvig cried.

"Okay." Tony muttered. _"Somebody's cuckoo for cookie puffs."_ he added silently.

He blasted the machine with his repulsors but the force fields knocked him back. Selvig & his laptop also went flying across the rooftop. "The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreakable." Jarvis piped up.

"Yeah got that. Plan B." he muttered, catching sight of Loki on the walkway leading into the penthouse.

"Sir... the Mark Seven is not ready for deployment." Jarvis told him.

"Skip the bells and whistles. We're on a clock." Tony said. He couldn't fight Loki or the Chitauri, whatever the hell they were, in his current suit.

As he landed, the automated machinery he had installed in the walkway removed his suit as he watched Loki enter the penthouse. "Please tell me you're going to my humanity." Loki chuckled as Tony walked into the penthouse.

"Uh, actually I was planning to threaten you." Tony admitted.

"You should have left your armor on for that." Loki smirked.

Tony shrugged & said, "Yeah well.. it's seen a bit of mileage. And you've got the Glow Stick of Destiny. Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything." Loki said.

"No, no, no threatening! No drink? You sure? I'm having one." Tony chirped, pouring himself a glass. The sip burned a bit but seemed to help smooth over the rough edges of everything that had happened recently.

Loki watched Tony, cautious & intrigued, but unsure what the mortal was planning.

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Loki smirked.

"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves... we're sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type thing." Tony said casually, tracking Loki's movements. When he was sure Loki wasn't looking, he slipped a bracelet over his wrist. The bracelet was a remote activator for the Mark 7 armor Jarvis was worried about. With Loki, things could go wrong in a second but he hoped to get to use the new suit.

"The Avengers. Yes, I've met them." Loki said, not impressed.

Tony shrugged & said, "Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that. But let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod. A Super-Soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up the legend. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues. A little hell-cat who absolutely hates men. A couple of master assassins... and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan." Loki admitted with a grin.

"Not a great plan. When they come & they will..." Tony said.

"I have an army." Loki interrupted.

"We have a Hulk. And a hell-cat who wants to tear you apart." Tony argued.

Loki smirked & reconized the 'hell-cat' as the Hawk's daughter. "I thought the beast had waundered off. And the girl is a mere mortal." Loki smirked.

Tony was going on a hope & prayer that Bruce would show up when they needed him.

"You're missing the point! There's not throne, there is not version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes & maybe it's too much for us.. but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it." Tony snapped, closing the gap between them.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki chuckled, tapping Tony on the chest with his scepter. Except unlike with Hawkeye & Selvig, nothing happened.

" _Well then."_ Tony thought as the Arc Reactor counteracted the scepter.

"This usually works." Loki said, trying again.

"Well, performance issues. You know?" Tony quipped.

Loki snarled & grabbed Tony by the throat, throwing him across the room.

"Jarvis... anytime now." Tony whispered.

"You will all fall before me." Loki hissed, grabbing Tony by the throat again.

The glass shattered behind Tony & he went into a freefall. _"This is much more fun in the suit."_ he thought, staring at the rapidly approaching street. The bracelet around his wrist chirped & he felt the familiar sensation of his armor wrapping itself around his body. Dangerously close to the ground, Tony engaged the thrusters & rocketed back up to the penthouse.

After all, nobody threw him off his own roof.

Loki blinked in shock as he hovered in the shattered window.

"And there's one other person you pissed off! He name was Phil." Tony snarled, firing a repulsor blast at Loki.


	55. Chapter 57

_**Author: So I have myself set on a bit of deadline to finish this story. Thankfully we don't have a lot left to do. Once again thank you to absolutely everyone for your reviews and well-wishes. Enjoy some Chitauri (yes I did misspell a million times) and general craziness.**_

On the rooftop, the Tesseract activated and a beam of blue energy pierced the sky, literally.

Fifty thousand feet above New York City, a hole opened up and on the other side: space and the Chitauri. First dozens, then hundreds of them began to pour through on small machines like flying motorcycles.

" _What the hell?"_ Tony thought, flying up to meet them.

There was no sign of the rest of the team but he hoped they were somewhere nearby because he really didn't want to have take on the entire army of Chitauri alone in suit that hadn't been field tested.

Tony blasted the Chitauri out of the air with repulsors and shoulder-mounted mini missiles but a lot of them got past him and flew low over the street of New York. They shot wildly and destroyed everything in their path.

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Clint glanced down at the blinking light on the control panel. "That's a communication trying to come through." he muttered.

"Stark?" Steve asked.

Nat shook her head and said, "Probably Fury."

"I got it." Rain told her, slipping between them.

"Agents. Do you have any idea how stupid of a plan you took part in? Stealing a Quinjet and terrifying a tech?" Fury told them as Rain let the communication through.

Natasha rolled her eyes and mouthed, _"Stupid?"_

"To be honest sir, I don't think any of us find our plan stupid. If anything it was necessary. We needed a way to get to New York City to stop Loki and the Chitauri. It's no riskier than other missions we've run in the past." Clint said.

They heard Fury sigh and mutter, "You three know what Loki is capable of. He could kill countless civilians and the entire team."

"We're aware of that sir. And that's a risk we are all willing to take." Rain said.

"Alright then... Fury out." he said, before the communication clicked off.

"He didn't try too hard to discourage us." Natasha pointed out.

Rain nodded as Steve piped, "He knows what we're doing is right. But it's part of his job to try to stop us."

"Doesn't mean he has to try very hard right?" Rain smirked.

Clint chuckled then paled as a Chitauri flew by. "Pretty sure that's one of his army." he whispered.

"Ugly bastards aren't they." Natasha sighed.

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Loki stepped back as Thor dropped out of the sky. "Do you not die?" he growled.

"Loki! Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!" Thor roared.

Loki laughed and cried, "You can't.. there is no stopping it! There is only.. the war!"

"So be it." Thor snarled.

Loki jumped down from the rooftop and slashed with the scepter, which Thor blocked with Mjolnir. As they battled furiously, pieces fell away from Stark Tower onto the roof of other buildings nearby.

Around them, the city fell in chaos as the Chitauri army marauded through the streets.

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Natasha watched as Tony zigzagged through the city and tapped the communication button. "Stark we're on your three, headed Northeast." she told him.

"Did you stop for take-out?! Swing up Park Avenue, I'm going to lay them out for you." Tony snapped. He angled north and banked back around, with the Chitauri behind him following.

"Nat." Clint hissed.

"Got them." she said, shooting as many of the Chitauri as she could with the belly mounted cannon.

"Sir, we have more incoming." Jarvis said.

"Fine. Let's keep them occupied." Tony muttered.

Clint swung the Qunijet near Stark tower as Nat kept firing at any Chitauri that came within range. "Down there." Rain said, pointing down to the Tower.

"Nat?" Clint whispered, nodding to where Thor was fighting Loki.

"I see him." she smirked.

Clint brought the Quinjet around and slowed it to a near hover so Nat could target Loki. "Almost got him." she muttered.

Loki glared up at the Quinjet and fired a blast of energy from the scepter that hit the hit the jet's left wing engine.

"Motherfucker." Clint growled, trying to keep them from crashing straight down.

"Language." Steve hissed as the Quinjet landed hard in a plaza a few blocks from the Tower.

Rain stared at him and scoffed, "Really Cap?"

He shrugged sheepishly and led them out of the Quinjet. "We need to get back up there." he said, nodding to the Tower.

Tony was shooting down Chitauri as fast as he could but there were plenty of Chitauri still flying over, strafing the streets.

"Shit... look at that." Rain whispered, as another giant creature came through from the Chitauri space.

It was hundreds of feet long with a mouth that gapped open as it swam through the air. Instead of wings, it had fins and bony spikes sticking up from it's back. _"It's a giant ass skeleton fish."_ Clint thought.

"Moby dick from hell?" Rain asked as portals on its sides opened and Chitauri foot soldiers leaped out.

Natasha snickered as Cap asked, "Stark? Are you seeing this?"

"Seeing. Still working on believeing." Tony answered, flying after the Leviathan. He had no idea how to fight something that destoryed whole floors of buildings with a flick of it's body. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?" he asked.

Cap raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Banner?"

"Just keep my posted." Tony told him, having a feeling they were going to need Banner before this was all over. "Jarvis find me a soft spot." he added, flying alongside the Leviathan.

" _Gotta distract this thing. Otherwise, it's gonna to destroy the city without help."_ Tony thought, firing off minimissiles. They didn't hurt the Leviathan but it turned to come after him with a roar. "Well... we got its attention. What the hell was step two?" he yelped, darting away.

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Thor grabbed Loki and forced him to stare down at the destruction the Chitauri were causing. "Look at this! You think this madness will end with your rule?"!" he raged.

"It's too late. It's too late to stop it." Loki whispered, trying to look away.

"No... we can. Together." Thor told him.

Loki looked Thor in the eye... then stabbed him with small knife hidden in his sleeve. Thor groaned and clutched at the wound, hissing in pain.

"Sentiment." Loki chuckled.

Thor snarled and slammed him onto the stone balcony. Loki yelped, sensing Thor's rage and looked for his scepter. _"Damn."_ he thought, seeing it out of reach. Then he rolled off the edge of the balcony and let himself fall.

Thor rushed to the edge and stared as Loki landed on a passing Chitauri flying machine, leaving him alone on the roof.


	56. Chapter 58

_**Author: Look for updates to come a bit quicker since I've put myself on a deadline to finish this story so be sure you stay caught up. Now we are getting into the fun stuff. Slight mention of potential triggers at the beginning because I like the idea of Clint being a soldier on top of SHIELD agent. Enjoy.**_

Steve, Rain, Natasha and Clint huddled behind a taxi as explosions went off around them.

"This is like Iraq all over again." Clint whispered.

Rain pressed gently against his back as sharpnel embedded itself in the ground nearby. "Deep breaths. We need you here." she told him.

"I'm good." Clint muttered, glancing around. He could see panicked civilians through windows. "Lot of civilians trapped up there Cap." he said, nodding up the buildings around them.

They all looked up as a flight of Chitauri went over their heads and Steve noticed something different about one of them.

"Loki. Those civilians are fish in a barrel down on the bridge." he said.

Chitauri soldiers dropped down onto the bridge nearby and Natasha pulled out her guns, firing off a few shots. "We got this. It's good. Go!" she told Cap.

Cap looked at Clint and asked, "You think you can hold them off?"

Clint dialed up an arrow, smirked and said, "Captain it would be my genuine pleasure."

Rain fired a shot into a Chitauri, dropping it and called, "Get out of here Cap!"

Steve nodded and ran off in pursuit of Loki as Clint went over to a bus full of civilians. "Come on." Clint called, tapping one of the windows. The window opened and a small child, roughly Cooper's age, came crawling out. "It's okay." he whispered, setting the child on the ground.

Nat and Rain both shot down Chitauri as Clint helped civilians from the bus until he was sure they were safe enough to join the girls.

Clint nocked and released an arrow, which embedded itself into a Chitauri's neck.

"This is just like Budapest all over again." Natasha told him.

Clint scoffed and said, "You and I remember Budapest very differently."

"Budapest went to hell. This is going to hell. I agree with the comparisson." Rain shrugged.

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"We need to get out! They gotta bring in the National Guard."

"The National Guard?! Do they know what's going on?!"

A Leviathan flew over and the first officer yelled, "Do we?"

Steve landed on top of a taxi, eyeing the guns the officer's aimed at him. "You need men in these buildings. There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basements or through the subway... keep them off the streets. I want a perimeter as far back as Thirty-Ninth." he commanded.

" _Assuming the city hasn't changed as much as it looks like it has."_ he thought.

The sergeant glared at him and demanded, "Why the hell should I take orders from you?"

Steve wanted to argue with the police sergeant but didn't get the chance as Chitauri ground troops dropped down close to the police line. He blocked a blast with his shield and in the same motion, batted the closest Chitauri away. He pivoted and brought his shield up to parry a spear thrust, knocking his attacker out with a punch and grabbed it's spear. _"Not my prefered weapon."_ he thought, slashing a Chitauri down with the spear. A fourth Chitauri moved grapple him and he beat it into submission, tossing it down onto the roof of the taxi.

The police sergeant stared for a moment before he turned to his officers, barking the same commands Steve had just issued himself.

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Clint tripped up a Chitauri and shoved an arrow into it's throat as Natasha took one down with it's own energy rifle. Rain vaulted off one dead Chitauri and slapped a second across the face with her escrima sticks. It screeched and shuddered as electric flowed through it before falling. "I don't think they like electricity." she called.

"Could be the armor." Natasha shouted.

"Any chance they're part mechanical?" Steve asked, slapping one away with his shield.

Clint fired an arrow into one before shrugging. Loki hadn't told him anything he didn't need to know. Anything about Chitauri had not been on that list.

Nat jumped onto a Chitauri's shoulders and shoved her Widow Bite's into it's neck. _"We're almost overwhelmed. There's too many of them."_ she thought.

Lightning lit up the sky and struck the Chitauri, all of whom convulsed then fell. "Definitely don't like electricity." Steve agreed.

Thor dropped out of the sky: wounded, tired and extremely pissed. "Glad I'm not the Chitauri or Loki." Clint whispered in Russian.

"Agreed." Nat and Rain said simultaniously.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor told him.

"Thor's right. You've got to deal with these guys." Tony called, zipping by.

"So how do we do this?" Natasha asked, looking at Steve.

"As a team." he told her.

Thor watched as more Chitauri zipped overhead and said, "I have unfinished business with Loki."

"Yeah? Get in line." Clint chuckled darkly, fitting a couple of arrows with choice heads.

"That makes two of us. Loki murdered Phil. I say he pays with blood." Rain growled.

"Save it," Steve told them sharply. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Otherwise those things could run wild. We've got Stark up on top and he's gonna need us..."

Steve stopped at the sound of a motorcycle engine and turned to see Banner. "So... this all looks horrible." Bruce muttered, glancing around the city.

"I've seen worse." Natasha said.

"Sorry." Bruce apologized sheepishly.

"I think we could use a little worse." she admitted.

Rain smirked and piped up, "Just don't break Harlem this time."

Bruce chuckled softly as Steve touched his com and said, "Stark? We've got him."

"Banner?" Tony asked.

"Just like you said." Steve agreed.

Tony did a celebratory spin through the air and said, "Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

A moment later Tony led a Leviathan towards from the North. "I... I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said.

Rain took a step back as the Leviathan followed Tony down towards the street. "Don't supposed you've got an arrow big enough to make sushi outta it?" she whispered to Clint.

"Hungry?" Clint whispered back.

"Always. And don't tell me you're not." she chuckled.

"Dr. Banner... now might be a really good time for you to get angry." Steve said.

Bruce looked over his shoulder and said, "That's my secret Captain. I'm always angry."

As he turned back to the Leviathan, Banner became the eight-foot-tall, two-thousand-pound rage monster called the Hulk. He brought his fist down on the Leviathan's skull with a booming crunch that shook the entire bridge. The momentum pushed Hulk back as the Leviathan's body toppled over him. Tony fired a rocket at the Leviathan's body, hitting a soft spot on it's belly, sending chunks of it flying in all directions. The Leviathan fell the ground below the bridge and lay still.

Rain peered down at it and said, "Nice work big guy."

Hulk grinned at her as Chitauri screeched in shock all around the city.

As a group, the Avengers looked around at the invaders. It was the first time the seven of them had all been fighting together instead of each other. After this war was over, most of them knew they'd go back to arguing among themselves eventually. They were all too stubborn and independent to really get along, but for now... they'd manage.

" _We haven't won yet. But the tide might be turning."_ Steve thought.

 _ **Author: seriously... has anyone else noticed that when they aren't working to save the world, they are fighting?**_


	57. Chapter 59

_**Author: keeping myself a very busy lady working on this story. And I never expected it to be so long... or so popular. Anyways, enjoy some general chaos & fighting. Plus a little bit of banter amongst some of our favorite peoples.**_

Steve stared as more Chitauri and Leviathans poured out of the portal.

"Call it Cap." Tony said.

" _Okay... just like old times. Except these aren't my Commandos."_ Steve thought.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof... eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, take the perimeter. Anything gets more that three blocks out, you turn it back or turn it to ash." he told them.

Clint looked at Tony and asked, "Wanna give me a lift?"

Tony grabbed Clint around the waist and chuckled, "Better clench up Legolas."

Rain scoffed and rolled her eyes as Tony rocketed up to the rooftop with her father.

"He always such a smartass?" Clint asked through the coms.

"You know, I could drop you back to the ground." Tony told him, hovering near the rooftop.

"Stark!" Steve snapped.

Tony dropped Clint on the roof that Steve had pointed at before flying off to hold the perimeter around the Tower.

"The answer is yes, if you're still curious." Rain piped up.

Clint snickered as Steve rolled his eyes. "Thor, try to bottleneck that portal. Slow 'em down. You've got the lightning... light the bastards up." he told the Asgardian.

Thor nodded and flew off, smashing Chitauri out of the way as he rose higher against the New York skyline.

Steve looked Natasha and Rain briefly. "You two, you stay with me on the ground. We'll keep the fighting down here." he told them.

They looked at each other and nodded as Steve looked over his shoulder.

"And Hulk? Smash." Steve said.

Hulk smirked and leaped away, rushing up the sides of nearby building to smash Chitauri when he got within arm's length of them. Then he leaped into the air and swatted their flyers down before charging off into the chaos.

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Thor reached the top of the Empire State Building and raised Mjolnir. Above him, storm clouds gathered and lightning struck down, hundreds of bolts reaching to lend their power to Mjolnir.

The spire had become a massive lightning rod, gathering the force of the elements.

Electricity crackled across his body as he thrust Mjolnir in the direction of the portal. All the energy he had built up struck and destroyed every Chitauri between the Empire State Building and portal. He leaned against the spire as hundreds of Chitauri and many Leviathans tumbled from the sky. Gathering so much energy, plus adding a small amount of his own Asgardian power, had exhausted him. But it had earned the rest of the Avengers a brief breather.

He just hoped they could make good use of it and turn the tide against Loki.

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Back on the Helicarrier, Fury and Hill were watching the chaos in New York City via hacked security feeds and traffic cameras.

Maria cocked her head as a message came through her earpiece. "Sir? The Council is on." she whispered, glancing at him.

Fury sighed. The last thing he needed in the middle of a war was a call from his so-called superiors. But none the less, he turned away to take it.

"Keep an eye on them." he said.

"Yes sir." Maria whispered.

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"Stark! Got a lot of strays sniffing your tail." Clint called, shooting down a Chitauri. Up on a sniper perch where he could see everything around him and being able to shoot as he pleased, he felt considerably better. Not completely like himself but getting there. Once he got to go home for a while and spend time with Laura and the kids... then he'd be okay.

"Just trying to keep them off the streets." Tony joked.

"They can't bank worth a damn. Find a tight corner." he told Stark.

"I will roger that." Tony said.

As Clint watched, Stark peeled his pursuers off in a series of maneuvers through tight spaces. The Chituari crashed into overpassed or spun out of control try stay on the other man's tail through tight turns between tall buildings. "Nice call. What else you got?" Tony asked as the last Chitauri went up in a fireball.

"Well... Thor's taking on a squadron down on Sixth." Clint said.

"And he didn't invite me." Tony said in mock anger.

Clint smirked and thought, _"This bastard might not be so bad after all."_

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Hulk charged through a building, leaping through a window to land on a Leviathan's muzzle before it could tear the building down. Workers screamed and ran as he pounded away at a Leviathan's armor plated skull as he rode it to the ground and killed it.

The massive creature crashed into the ground near where Rain, Steve and Natasha were still fighting Chitauri troops on the ground.

Rain shoved one of her escrima sticks against a Chitauri's armor, watching as it convulsed and then dropped. She inhaled sharply and touched her shoulder gingerly. Judging by the odd angle it hung at and the sharp pain, she guessed it was dislocated.

Natasha cut the throat of Chitauri, grabbed it's energy rifle and spun to attack. Steve brought his shield up... just in case. Instead Natasha sat on the hood of a destroyed car and muttered, "Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal."

"Agreed. And we can't keep doing this all day." Rain whispered.

Nat gave her a weak smile and pulled her down to sit beside her.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." Steve admitted.

"Maybe it's not about guns." Nat suggested.

Steve and Rain shared a look, both knowing what she was suggesting. Nat was really good in close quarter combat... better than either of them.

"If you want to get up there, you're gonna need a ride." Steve said.

Nat eyed a passing Chitauri flyer and said, "I can get a ride, could use a boost."

"You sure about this?" Steve asked.

Rain kissed Natasha's cheek and whispered, "Be safe."

Nat smiled before looking up to gauge the distance and speed of the oncoming flyer. "Yeah... it'll be fun." she sighed.

She ran and leaped onto the shield, which Steve used to fling her into the air. As they watched, she caught the bottom of the Chitauri craft and was gone, riding it out of sight.

Steve glanced at Rain's shoulder and asked, "What happened?"

"Dislocated. Chitauri slammed me in a chunk of cement shoulder first." she sighed.

"Would you like me to pop it back? We seem to be in the clear for now." Steve asked.

"Yeah, sure." she whispered.

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Tony watched Natasha fly by and thought, _"Clever woman."_

Natasha glanced over her shoulder as a Chitauri careened into a building behind her. She reconized the flash of metallic red flying away and smiled.

Tony veered off to join Steve and fired his repulsors at the shield, which reflected the beam back at the surrounding Chitauri.

"Thanks." Steve panted.

"I thought you had both of the girls with you." Tony said.

Steve motioned to the over turned car behind them and said, "I just popped her shoulder back into socket. Decided she could use a breather."

Tony hovered over the car and looked down at Rain, who was sitting behind it. He wanted to make some smart ass comment about how she was sitting down on the job but bit his tongue. She looked worse for wear and in pain. "Alright. Take a few more kid." he muttered before flying off.

Behind him a Chitauri flyer exploded as an arrow hit it's engines.

"Gonna be okay Rain?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, just need another minute or two." she whispered.

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Thor and Hulk were on the back of a Leviathan, smashing and electrocuting Chitauri. Hulk tore off a piece of it's armor and pounded it into the base of the Leviathan's skull. Summoning up all his strength, Thor slammed Mjolnir down onto the piece of armor and the Leviathan died in midflight.

"Perhaps not the best idea." Thor whispered as the Leviathan crashed into a museum.

He stood there panting for a moment before Hulk punched him, sending him flying.

" _Now we are even... I suppose."_ Thor thought, laying there as Hulk smirked.


	58. Chapter 60

_**Author: I'm running of notes... I seriously am. However, let's see who gets the little Easter Egg I tossed in this chapter. And on a side note: my flashdrive is currently being stupid.**_

Erik Selvig blinked, confused and uncertain. "Where am I?" he whispered, looking around. A Chitauri shot down past him and he rolled onto his back, staring at the portal above him. "Oh god..." he breathed.

The past few days came back to him in a rush and he remembered... everything.

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"Cap, the bank on 42nd. Down past Madison... they caught a lot of civilians in there." Clint said, shooting down another Chitauri.

He heard Steve sigh heavily. Even the super soldier was wearing down.

"I'm on it." Steve whispered.

"I'll go with you." Rain said.

Steve shook his head and said, "You need to stay here with the army and police."

"I don't need protecting." Rain hissed.

Steve sighed, wishing he knew how to deal with her. "Cap, get to that bank. I'll talk sense into her." Clint piped up.

"Right. Stay here.. please." Steve said before taking off towards the bank.

"Switch to private channel S-512015." Clint told Rain in Russian.

Rain sighed and did as she was told. "Yeah dad?" she muttered.

"Listen. And don't argue." he said sharply.

"Yes sir." she whispered, leaning against a destroyed car.

Clint fired off an arrow to send a Chitauri flyer spiraling out of control and snapped, "You're young but not invincible. Me, you and Nat... we're all human. Highly trained but still human. That shoulder of your's needs time to heal. It's not going to happen now but you can stay with the army and police, and let it rest. Fight off the Chitauri when they get close to you but DO NOT do anything stupid!"

Rain shivered under the weight of the command. "Yes sir." she said.

"Good girl." Clint sighed. He hated to pull senority but sometimes he had to.

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Steve could hear civilians whispering and crying before he broke through the window. One Chitauri had a bomb, which he threw his shield at first.

As the other two Chitauri aimed their energy rifles at him, he dove behind a desk and kicked it at them. The Chitauri screeched in surprise as he jumped over it to grab one in a headlock and slapped another away.

The civilians gasped and screamed as one of the Chitauri fell over the balcony to land near them. A third Chitauri attacked him from behind, ripping off his helmet.

The Chitauri that he had once had in headlock scrambled with the rapidly beeping bomb and Steve shouted, "Clear out!"

He flipped over the Chitauri behind him as the other one threw the bomb at him. _"This isn't gonna end well."_ Steve thought, grabbing his shield and tucking himself behind it.

His ears were ringing as he hit the car roof on the street below. "Owww." he groaned.

A hand touched his shoulder and he jerked, looking at a man in military uniform. "Sir? Are you injuried?" the soldier asked.

Steve shook his head and muttered, "Civilians.. inside."

More soldiers rushed by, cooridnating evacuations and trying to provide a bit of cover fire against nearby Chitauri. They wouldn't be able to mount an effective opposition.

Steve slid off the car and stood there, panting. For a moment he felt hopeless... for the first time in his life. _"We need to close that portal... or else we're never gonna end this war. The city... my city... has taken so much damage."_ he thought.

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Fury was seething, glaring up at the World Security Council. They had taken the operation out of his hands and he hated it.

They wanted to use a nuclear mission to take out the Tesseract and close the portal, but it would cost countless civilian lives. Not to mention his team, who he cared about.

"Director Fury, the Council has made a decision." one of the Council said firmly.

"I recognize that the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." Fury growled.

"Director, you're closer than any of our subs. You scramble that jet!" another Council member commanded.

"That is the island of Manhattan, Councilor. Until I am certain that my team CAN NOT hold it, I WILL NOT order a nuclear strike against a civilian population!" he shouted.

"If we don't hold them here, we lose everything." one of the Council told him.

"If I send that bird out, we already have." Fury told them. He refused to be the one responsible for countless civilian deaths. And he especially did not want to have to go tell Laura that Clint, Rain and Natasha were dead.

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"Get off my ass." Natasha growled, looking over her shoulder at Chitauri glider she couldn't shake.

A flash of dark hair told her exactly why she couldn't shake the glider behind her. "Oh... you." she muttered.

Loki stayed close as she dodged between buildings, trying to get away from him.

"Hawkeye!" she called.

Clint caught sight of her and asked, "Nat what are you doing?"

"Little help!" she yelped, swinging close to where Clint was still perched across from Stark Tower.

"I got 'em." Clint smirked as he nocked then released an arrow.

It was an incredible shot, even for him. Over a distance for several hundred yards at a fast moving target... it was perfect.

At least it seemed to be... until Loki snatched the arrow out of the air, just before it hit him in the face. Glancing back at Clint, Loki smirked.

"You did exactly what I wanted you to do, you son of a bitch." Clint laughed as the arrowhead detonated, sending Loki crashing into the Tower. The out of control Chitauri flyer destroyed the "S" and "T" in the Stark logo... Thor had smashed the "R" earlier in the day.

Natasha took a deep breath and dove off her commandeered flyer. She hit the gravel of the patio and rolled to kill her momentum. There was a soft crack from her ankle and she inhaled sharply at the pain. "Push it away... there's still work to do." she groaned.

The Hulk flew out of nowhere and grabbed Loki, dragging him through the last intact window of Tony's living room. Loki hit the wall hard enough to be stunned for a moment and Hulk pounded the floor with his fists, ready to attack again.

"ENOUGH!" Loki screamed, getting up.

Hulk paused, cocking his head.

"You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature and I will not be bullied by..." Loki raged.

" _Hey big guy... smash?"_ Bruce whispered in the back of Hulk's mind. Just like Banner could always feel Hulk in his mind, Hulk could feel Banner... just not as strongly.

Hulk grinned and grabbed Loki's leg, swinging him over his head. Still grinning, he smashed the Asgardian into the floor six or seven times as hard as he could. When he was done the floor was destoryed and Loki stared up at the ceiling in shock.

"Puny God." Hulk snared before stomping off to rejoin the fight.

Behind him, Loki let out a long drawn out whine of pain.

 _ **Author: AKA Loki's "I'm a pitiful little bitch" whine.**_


	59. Chapter 61

_**Author: I feel back for hurting most of the team but sadly it's hard to come out of a war unscathed. Happy Easter! Enjoy lots of chocolate & junk food. Time for me to sleep since I'm visiting family later.**_

Natasha stared at the machine holding the Tesseract, wondering how to destroy it or at least disable it. But she was a spy, not a scientist and she felt in over her head.

"The scepter."

She looked over to find that Doctor Erik Selvig was free from Loki's mind control.

" _When did that happen?"_ she thought, looking at the machine and wondering if the explosion from when Tony had attacked it had knocked Selvig back to his senses.

"What about it?" she asked.

"The energy... the Tesseract can't fight it. You can't protect against yourself." he whispered.

She could see the guilt on his face... just like how she had seen it on Clint's. They both knew what Loki had made them do and they would both have to learn to live with it. "It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing." she said, kneeling down beside him. Quietly she added, "My best friend will be going through the exact same thing after all of this is done."

"The Hawk?" he asked.

She nodded and he stared at her, digesting what she had told him. "Actually... I think I did. I built in a safety to cut the power source." he admitted.

"Loki's scepter." Natasha whispered. The scepter and the Tesseract shared a power source.. it could possibly reach through the energy barrier.

"It might be able to close the portal." Selvig said, glancing down at one of the lower patios where he saw a gold gleam. "And I'm looking right at it."

She nodded and got to her feet slowly, wincing.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I hurt my ankle earlier but I'll live." she sighed.

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Steve looked up as Thor landed nearby. "Decide to join the fun?" he asked.

Thor smirked and smashed a Chitauri aside with Mjolnir.

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Over head Tony flew along side a Leviathan and fired his ruby-laser torch at it, but was disappointed to see it didn't even scratch it.

"Sir, we will lose power before you cut through that shell." Jarvis piped up.

Tony hovered in the Leviathan's path and asked, "J... you ever heard the tale of Jonah?"

"I wouldn't consider him a role model." Jarvis said, in as close to a worried tone as the AI could get.

" _Well... too bad."_ Tony thought, flying towards the Leviathan. Just before he entered the creature's mouth, he unleashed the remaining arsenal on the suit. "Oh god... it reeks in here." he gagged then burst out of the creature and hovered to watch it collaspe.

"Sir..." Jarvis began.

Tony turned to see a small band of Chitauri soldier's rush towards him.

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Clint kicked a Chitauri down off the side of the building as another one tried to take it's place. _"Damn things finally decided to come try to take me down."_ he thought, reaching over his shoulder for another arrow.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his quiver was empty.

"Damn it." he growled, smacking a Chitauri back with his bow. Above him, he could hear the whistling and screeching of incoming flyers.

He pulled an arrow out of a Chitauri, shoved it back in his quiver and dialed up one last arrowhead. Behind him, an explosion went off and he dove off the building. _"Laura is gonna kill me if she find out."_ he thought, firing off the arrow. The grappling hook dug into a secure part of the building and his stomach lept into his throat when he bounced in midair.

He cringed when he hit the window and rolled, coming to rest on the floor. There was glass digging into his arms but at least for the moment the quiver digging into his back hurt more. "I really hate my job." he groaned, rolling onto his side.

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"Kill it!" one of the police shouted as a Chitauri dropped down beside them.

Rain activated her escrima sticks and shoved them both against the Chitauri's armor, electrocuting it. The Chitauri left out a long whine before it fell.

"If you've got tasers or anything else that can conduct electricity, use them." she told the officers and soldiers behind her.

One the officers rubbed the back of his neck and said, "The best we've got are our side arms ma'am."

Rain rolled her eyes as a few more Chitauri dropped down. "Anybody else got bright ideas?" she asked.

"We've got some rocket launchers." one of the soldiers called.

"Then use them on any that are dropping down. Look for weak points in the armor. The stomach, neck and head. Those face plates are removable so if they take them off, light 'em up." she called, shoving her exhaustion back.

" _You can rest when you're dead. In the meantime... there's a mission to finish."_ a voice that sounded a bit like Fury's whispered in her mind.

"You heard the woman!" a soldier shouted as the Chitauri screeched.

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"Director Fury is no longer in command. Override order seven alpha one one."

The quinjet pilot nodded and said, "Seven alpha one one confirmed. We are go for takeoff."

He lifted over, heading for the island of Manhattan with a nuclear missile designed to end the Chitauri invasion... but at the cost of countless innoccent lives.

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Maria spun to see a quinjet trying to take off and shouted, "Sir, we have a bird in motion! Anyone on the deck, we have a rogue bird! We need to shut it down! Repeat! Take off is not authorized!"

Fury ran out on the flight deck with a rocket launcher and fired, blowing the landing gear out from under the Quinjet.

As a second jet screamed by, he pulled out his gun and fired off several shots. The bullets wouldn't do much... but it helped him vent a little bit of anger.

Knowing that he would only be able to react fast enough to stop one, the World Security Council had sent two Quinjets.

He growled darkly and opened a line straight to Stark, not wanting to distract the rest of the team... his team. "Stark, you hearing me? There's a missile heading straight for the city." he said.

There was a screech and then an explosion before Stark asked, "How long?"

"Three minutes... at best. Stay low and wipe out that missle." Fury told him.

The line clicked and then all Fury heard was silence. "Please don't let me have signed that bastard's death sentence." he sighed.

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"Jarvis, put everything we got into the thrusters!" Tony shouted.

"I just did." Jarvis assured him.

Tony rocketed away to intecept the missile, cursing whoever had decided that dumping a nuclear missle on the city was a good idea.


	60. Chapter 62

_**Author: For some reason even though the last chapter posted, the information for the story didn't show a new update. Be sure you read the last chapter. Hope everyone had a good Easter. I spent mine with family, video games and my beloved team.**_

Steve hit the ground hard as pain shot up his side. He could smell blood and burnt fabric.

Thor growled and swung Mjolnir at a damaged car, flipping it over and over to destroy Chitauri soldiers.

"I'm getting really tired of this." Steve hissed, trying to get up to his feet.

Thor grabbed his arm and hauled him up, making sure he was steady before releasing him.

"Ready for another bout?" the Asgardian asked.

Steve glanced at his injuried side, raised his shield and joked, "What? You getting' sleepy?"

Thor smirked and raised Mjolnir to the sky to summon down more lightning.

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"Do it... now." Selvig said.

Natasha pushed the tip of the scepter against the energy barrier. It resisted but slowly she felt the barrier give just enough for the scepter to start slipping through. "I can close it! Can anyone copy! I can shut the portal down!" she shouted, hoping she could be heard.

"Close it!" Steve shouted immediately.

"No... wait!" Tony snapped.

Natasha hesitated, unsure what to do.

"Stark! Those things are still coming!" Steve argued.

"And I've got a nuke coming in! It's going to blow in less than a minute and I know just where to put it." Tony told them.

Natasha hesitated, holding the scepter in place. She didn't really believe it was possible but if anyone could stop the nuclear missile... it just might be Tony.

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Rain looked up as Tony streaked by above her, heading south. Fury would never have sent a nuke... he'd want to avoid as many causalities as possibile, not add to them.

The only people, besides terrorist groups and lunatic super villians, who would order a nuke were the World Security Council.

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Tony caught the missle and slowly forced it away from Manhattan, towards the portal created but the Tesseract.

"Stark.. you know that's a one-way trip." Steve whispered.

Tony sighed and said, "Save the rest for the turn J." He didn't want to think too hard on what Steve had told him.. otherwise he'd probably realize the soldier was right.

"Sir.. shall I try Ms. Potts?" Jarvis asked.

"Might as well." Tony shrugged. She was probably busy with some meeting or another but maybe he could leave her a message. _"Hey Pep, sure you're seeing the news or will soon. I'm okay... just about to play through a portal to alien space."_ he thought.

If he hadn't been so focused, he would have laughed at the look of shock on Natasha and Selvig's faces. As he got close to the portal, he could easily see what was on the other side: empty space, stars and more Chitauri than he could count.

Jarvis cut out as the link to Stark Tower broke once he was through the portal.

The call to Pepper failed.

His thrusters flickered and went out as the suit began to freeze.

"You knew it was a one way trip." he whispered as he let go of the missle and fell back towards the portal.

The massive Chitauri ship made his eyes go wide... it was bigger than a hundred Helicarriers. Leviathans flew from it and Chitauri fighters swarms in massive amounts. If the ship wasn't destroyed, thousands... millions of the soldiers would keep attacking.

" _What kind of civilization could make something like them? We're centuries away from that technology."_ he thought.

Fury was right... humanity was hillariously outgunned when it came to attacks from another world.

Tony watched as the missle streaked towards the ship. Despite his terror, he was glad he saw what was beyond the portal. One day, the human race would make it out amongst the stars... but first, they had to survive that long.

And that meant defeating the Chitauri.

The missle exploded, starting as tiny ball of fire that engulfed the ship in seconds.

Tony smiled and closed his eyes.

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"He did it." Fury whispered as his agents all cheered.

"Sir... what about Stark?" Maria asked.

Fury tapped a button on his control panel that opened the line straight to Stark. "Stark? Tony?" he asked.

Silence... only silence.

"Damn it." he sighed.

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Rain watched as Chitauri began to shake and then fall. "Hold your fire." she commanded.

The officers and soldiers did as they were instructed but a few nudged the fallen Chitauri curiously.

"Guys... the Chitauri near me all went into some sort of convulsions. Now they're not moving. Did Stark do it?" she asked.

"I think so." Steve whispered, staring up at the explosion. _"I was wrong about him. When it mattered... he made the sacrifical play."_ he added silently.

"Captain." Thor said solemnly.

"Close it." Steve sighed.

Natasha touched the tip of the scepter to the Tesseract and watched as the portal began to collapse. _"I'm sorry."_ she whispered.

Rain lowered her head and set a hand over her heart. "May you find peace... somewhere." she whispered. She regreted calling him weak and a coward.

"Son of a gun!" Steve shouted.

Natasha laughed and Rain smiled as they both looked up at Tony's form falling through the sky. _"That stubborn bastard can't die."_ Rain thought.

"He's not slowing down." Thor said, swinging Mjolnir to fly up and intercept their falling comrade before he hit the ground.

Hulk leaped into view and caught Tony, sliding down a building. When they landed, he dumped Tony on the ground and bent over him. "Is he breathing?" Steve asked as he and Thor jogged over.

Thor ripped the face mask from Tony's suit.

Tony didn't move and the reactor was dark.

They stood there for a long moment, realizing that they had lost him after all. The portal had collasped and the Chitauri were destroyed. Tony had sacrified himself to save humanity.

" _He can't be dead."_ Banner whispered. Hulk roared down at Tony, expressing his rage and Banner's sadness.

Steve cringed and resisted the urge to cover his ears. The sound was deafening.

Tony gasped and his eyes snapped open. "What!? What just happened? Please tell nobody kissed me." he yelped.

Steve smirked and Hulk snorted. "We won." Steve told him.

Tony tried to sit but flopped back down. "All right... yay! All right... good job guys. Let's just not come in tommarow... let's just take a day." he rambled.

Thor chuckled as Tony took a breath then added, "Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I want to try it."

"Shawarma? Sure.. why not?" Steve agreed. He didn't know what shawarma was either.

" _It sounds delicious."_ Banner sighed.

"Shawarma is really good. And a great idea." Rain piped up.

Natasha sat down on the patio near the machine holding the Tesseract and said, "I agree whole heartedly."

"We're not finished yet." Thor admitted.

Tony groaned and said, "Oh... okay. Then Sharwarma after."

Steve thought for a moment and asked, "Has anyone heard from Hawkeye?

 _ **Author: And yes shawarma is wonderful.**_


	61. Chapter 63

_**Author: Hey everyone! Sorry for the slower than normal update. Took a few days off to worry about trying to find a new job and then relax. Having Thieve's Guild DLC on Elder Scrolls... plus an app on my phone that lets me do puzzles to my heart's content also slowed this fic down at bit... just a bit. Thankfully I'm ahead of schedule for finishing this story and starting a new one. Remember I'm not the one who made Hawkeye go through many glass windows in both Avengers movies... that was Joss Whedon.**_

"Last I saw he was still on the roof across from the Tower." Tony piped up.

Steve looked in the direction of the Tower and tapped his com. "Agent Barton? Agent Barton? This is Captain America... do you read me?" he asked.

Silence.

"Perhaps his communication device was destroyed." Thor said.

"His com was in his ear." Natasha whispered.

Rain sighed and snapped in Russian, "Dad! If you can hear me... get your lazy ass up!"

It never failed to get a reaction from her father if she mouthed off to him.

Nothing... except silence.

Rain swallowed thickly and sat on the hood of a car.

"We'll find him Milaya... if he can be found." Natasha assured her.

Steve looked at Thor and said, "Go fly up to the building across from the Tower. Have a look around it and the buildings nearby. and if you find him, bring him here."

"The building is that-a-way." Tony said, pointing north.

Thor flew north, looking for any sign of their missing archer.

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"Honey?" Laura whispered.

"Hmmm?" he hummed.

He felt Laura's fingers run over his back, stroking over scars from missions that all ran together some days.

"You need to wake up." she said.

He groaned and tried to bury himself under blankets.

"Wake up.. you're not done yet." she told him.

"Done?" he murmured, blinking owlishly.

"This mission. It's not quite done." Laura told him.

He sat up and asked, "What mission?"

Laura smiled sadly as he felt something warm trickle down his arm. "What the fuck?" he asked, reaching up to touch his shoulder.

"Friend Barton!"

Clint jerked and opened his eyes, glancing around. He was laying on the floor of an office with chunks of glass around him.

"Are you alright?"

He stared up at Thor and muttered, "I think I passed out. Had a really fucked up dream."

"You have been through more than most mortals could imagine in the past several days, friend. I would not deny you rest." Thor told him.

"You fell asleep? I almost died!" Tony shouted over the coms.

Clint groaned and thought, _"I think I would have rather stayed asleep."_

"How do ya feel Hawk?" Steve asked.

"Realy, really rough. Pretty sure I went through a window and am wearing glass now." Clint sighed.

"Sounds like when we went to Tokyo." Natasha smirked.

"and Paris." Rain added.

"I think... Panama too?" Natasha asked.

"Got a thing for going through windows Hawk?" Tony asked.

"Shut up... all of you." Clint groaned, sitting up. His back still hurt from landing on his quiver. His feet and one knee hurt from going through the window. and all the glass in his arms and shoulders stung like hell.

"Thor? Can you get him down to street level?" Steve asked.

"Momentarily." Thor assured him.

Clint pushed himself up slowly and inhaled sharply at the pain that rushed through him. "Son of a bitch." he groaned.

"Come friend. Let us return to our companions." Thor said.

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"There's our little hell-cat." Tony said, as Rain joined them.

"Glad you see you still alive Mr. Stark." she admitted.

He shrugged but scooted over so she could sit down.

Clint hissed in pain as Thor set him down on the ground. "Do you require assistance friend?" the Asgardian asked.

"No... I'm good." he lied, limping over to where Rain and Tony sat.

Rain eyed him and said, "You look like shit... warmed over. Twice."

"Thanks." he groaned, easing himself down on a piece of concrete.

Steve nodded to him and asked, "Romanoff? You have eyes on Loki?"

Nat chuckled and said, "Yeap. He laying in one of many holes in the penthouse floor. I'd say Hulk did a number on him."

"Jarvis? Please tell me we have footage of Loki becoming Hulk's bitch." Tony laughed.

Hulk grinned dangerously and Jarvis piped up, "If you mean the Hulk using Loki to destroy the floor of the Penthouse... then yes."

"I still want to put an arrow through his eye socket." Clint muttered in Russian.

"You're out of arrows." Rain reminded him.

He winked at her and called, "Hey big guy! Drag that Chitauri by your foot over here."

Hulk grabbed the Chitauri and tossed it at Clint, who pulled the arrow from it's chest.

"One arrow is enough." he assured Rain.

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Loki had managed to drag himself out of the hole in the floor and towards the door. He was hurting... badly. He'd be healing for a very long time thanks to the green monster.

But he'd have his revenge eventually.

He would destroy the Avengers, their loved ones and their precious Midgard.

Behind him, he heard a soft sound like a barely there footstep.

Carefully he rolled over and found himself staring down the shaft of an arrow. And beyond that... stood the Avengers.

His brother.

The man of iron.

The Hawk.

The Soldier.

The green beast.

And the Black Widow... who held his scepter.

He sighed and muttered, "If it's all the same to you.. I'll have that drink now."

Tony smirked as he glanced past Loki and chuckled, "Not if she has anything to say about it."

Slowly Loki turned and looked up, inhaling sharply as he did. The Hawk's daughter stood above him on a piece of floor that had angled up when broken by the Hulk's strength. Watching her, he was strangely reminded of Frigga... his adopted mother.

"The Hell-Cat." he whispered.

Rain smirked and said, "How nice to know you didn't forget about me."

Loki cried out at the pain that shot through him as she shoved her electrified escrima sticks against his chest. The electricity wouldn't kill him but it hurt like hell.

A second pain, this one between his shoulders, made him scream and arch his back.

"That looks like it hurt." Natasha said.

"It's not his eye socket... but I'll take it." Clint shrugged.

Rain shut off the electricity and slapped Loki across the face as hard as she could with her escrima sticks. The Asgardian flopped on his side and lay still.

"He still lives." Thor said.

"Tell us how to kill as Asgardian and we can change that." Rain smirked.

 _ **Author: Yeah... I don't apologize for any of that.**_


	62. Chapter 64

_**Author: Wow... last chapter. This story is so long and so popular... I am so shocked. Seriously everyone... thank you so much for all the love for Rain and this story. Just... wow.**_

 **May 5** **th** **, 2012**

 **New York City**

 **Exact location: Classified**

Natasha looked at her phone, flipping through news photos of the destruction in the city. It was bad... worse than she had thought.. especially after she read how many people were missing and confirmed dead. In between the reports about the destruction were interviews with civilians, military, police and even a few political figures. Some of them praised the Avengers but others were blaming them.

"War's never easy. Or fun. But we saved as many lives as we could." Clint whispered in her ear.

She nodded slowly and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Sore as hell. The food, pain pills and good night sleep did a lot of good though." he shrugged. Most of the glass in his arms and shoulders had come out easily and had not been driven in deep enough to need stitches. His back was bruised from his quiver and he'd be limping for a bit due to his knee but he'd heal.

Steve's side was almost fully healed from where he had taken a hit from a Chitauri blaster.

Thor's stab wound from Loki's knife had healed the day before.

Nat was limping just a bit and Rain was favoring her shoulder.

Any other scrapes, cuts and bruises would be forgotten in a few weeks.

"Last chance: shawarma again?" Tony asked.

"You're still going on about that Stark?" Rain asked.

Tony shrugged and said, "It was good."

"We've had it better." Natasha muttered.

"Iraq for me." Clint said.

"Turkey." Natasha told him.

"And Athens." Rain added.

"We need to go back. Beautiful place." Natasha said.

Rain nodded as Thor led Loki into the center of their gathering.

"I really want to put an arrow through his eye socket." Clint hissed.

Natasha smirked and eyed Loki. The bruise on his face was gone. The electrical burns and the wound from the arrow were probably healed.

But they had hurt him and that sent a vicious warmth through her.

"Friends. It was an honor to fight with you... all of you." Thor said.

Quietly, they all shook hands with the Asgardain and he assured them he would return if he could.

Selvig smiled sadly as he accepted Thor's hug. He had helped cause the war against New York City... and he'd have to learn to live with that.

Tony opened the Tesseract's case and Bruce slipped it into a glass tube.

"Don't worry... if prison's work the same way on Asgard as they do here, he'll be someone's bitch before long." Natasha whispered in Clint's ear.

Clint grinned like a cheshire cat and Loki dropped his gaze, reluctantly grabbing the other end of the tube holding the Tesseract.

They all stepped back as a beam of energy engulfed the Asgardians.

"I guess it is literaly a rainbow bridge." Rain muttered.

Tony went to Steve and shook his hand. "Pleasure working with you Cap." he admitted.

"Likewise." Steve agreed as Natasha pulled a duffle bag from the trunk of the SHIELD issued car and handed it to Bruce.

"Clothes, money, ID, passport and an untraceable phone." she told him.

Bruce nodded and whispered, "Thank you."

"Mr. Stark." Rain said as she approached the billionare slowly.

"Do I still get to call you Hell-Cat?" he asked.

She sighed and muttered, "I wish you wouldn't. But... I wanted to apologize for what I said on the Helicarrier. You are not a coward, or weak, or entirely selfish. You proved that yesterday... taking the missle through the portal, even though it almost killed you."

Tony smiled, ruffled her hair and said, "Take care of yourself Hell-Cat."

She shook her head as he walked away.

Bruce followed Tony to his car and hopped in beside him.

"Miss Barton... I've been meaning to ask..." Steve began.

"Rain. Just Rain." she corrected.

He nodded and said, "Okay, Rain. What's going on between you and Clint?"

Rain glanced over her shoulder at Clint and said, "He saved my life. He also helped me get into SHIELD and has been my mentor all these years."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, "Tony gave me this phone. But I don't know how to use it. And I'd like to keep in touch."

"Let's go get some coffee. And I will teach you how to use a smart phone." Rain said, laughing.

Clint leaned against the car and called, "You coming kiddo?"

"You two go ahead! I'll catch up! Stark gave Cap a phone but didn't teach him how to use it." Rain shouted back, zipping up her jacket.

Steve blushed a little as Rain climbed onto the back of his bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Where to?" he asked.

"Pick somewhere." she told him.

Natasha watched Steve leave with Rain as Clint nudged her. "You're not jealous are you?" he asked.

"No. He's a good man." she told him.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Fury glanced at the World Security Council, feeling a bit proud that they had not gotten their way.

"Where are the Avengers?" one of them demanded.

He shrugged and said, "I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts. I'd say they've earned a leave of absence."

"And the Tesseract?" another asked.

"The Tesseract is where it belongs... out of our reach." he told them.

"That's not your call." a third snapped.

He smirked and said, "I didn't make it. But I didn't argue with that god that did.

"So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes?"

"Oh, I think he will be." Fury assured them then added silently, _"And he's already learned not to piss off us mere mortals."_

"I don't think you understand what you've started. Letting the Avengers loose on this world. They're dangerous. Three of your top agents are on that list."

"They surely are. And the whole world knows it. Every world knows it." he hissed.

"What was the point of all this? A statement?"

Fury smiled and said, "A promise."

Then he turned and walked out, meeting Hill on his way to the bridge.

"Sir, how does it work now?" They've gone their seperate ways, some pretty far. We get into a situation like this again... what happens then?" Hill asked.

"They'll come back." Fury told her.

Hill hesitated then asked, "You really sure about that?"

"I am." he confirmed.

"Why?" she murmured.

Fury smiled and said, "Because we'll need them to."

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Pepper tucked herself under Tony's arm and said, "I'm surprised you're even considering this. I thought you liked privacy."

"I do... but one day the world might need us again. And I kinda like them." Tony admitted. The team... the Avengers had grown on him rather quickly.

He brought up small images of his plans. Rooms for the team, individually labeled with pictures that reminded him of each of them.

Mjolnir for Thor.

A bow for Hawkeye.

The shield for Steve.

His Ironman mask for himself and Pepper.

Natasha's personal insignia.

A DNA spiral for Bruce.

"What about Rain?" Pepper asked.

"Still not sure about her's yet." Tony admitted, pulling up a rough blueprint.

Pepper did a quick search and pasted the only image she felt fit the woman Tony nicknamed Hell-Cat onto the seventh blueprint: a sword.

"Sharp, beautiful and deadly. Works for me." Tony admitted.

 _ **Author: Yes... Steve does have a little bit of a crush on Rain.**_

 _ **P.S.: April fools! I'm not quite done yet!**_


	63. Chapter 65

**_Author: okay so I'm a bit annoyed with myself. I had plans for that one aftermath chapter that deals with any issues that our favorite agents have to deal with after Loki and the war. Unfortunately, I've deleted and re-written that chapter so many times and it doesn't feel... right._**

 ** _So I think that yes... the previous chapter is the last chapter._**

 ** _Anyways..._**

 ** _In a few weeks I will be posting an authors note with details regarding the next "book" of this series._**

 ** _As always, much love and thanks for all the wonderful reviews, follows and feedback._**


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